Murder of Solange Grabenheimer

Murder of Solange Grabenheimer
Undated photo of Solange Grabenheimer
LocationFlorida, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Date10 January 2007 (2007-01-10)
Attack type
Murder by strangulation and stab wounds
VictimSolange Grabenheimer, aged 21
PerpetratorUnknown (case unsolved)
MotiveUnknown
VerdictAcquitted (Lucila Frend)

On 10 January 2007, 21-year-old Solange Grabenheimer was found stabbed and strangled in the second floor of her apartment in Florida, Buenos Aires, Argentina. In a case that caught national attention, Grabenheimer's roommate and friend Lucila Frend was ultimately charged with her aggravated murder. Frend was tried in 2011 and acquitted. The crime remains unsolved.

Discovery and investigation

On 10 January 2007 at around 23:00, police were called to an apartment in Calle Güemes in the Greater Buenos Aires area of Florida. There, they found the body of 21-year-old Solange Grabenheimer, who had been found by her friend Lucila Frend and Grabenheimer's boyfriend.[1] Frend, who had left the apartment early in the morning,[2] grew increasingly worried by the late night, when Grabenheimer did not show up for a birthday party and did not answer to her repeated phone calls.[3]

When police arrived at the scene, they asked Frend to identify the body and to see if the apartment had been robbed. Frend assured police that nothing had been stolen, and told prosecutor Alejandro Guevara that she was "horrified" to see her friend dead by the side of her bed.[1] Days later, Guevara summoned Frend for a reconstruction of the crime scene and interrogated her.[1] During the reconstruction, Frend simulated strangling Grabenheimer with a computer wire, which was a detail of the crime only known to the investigators.[4][1]

Guevara then argued that the two young women had a "conflicting relationship",[5] Guevara charged Frend with Grabenheimer's aggravated murder and asked for her arrest.[1] The arrest warrant was denied on the basis that Frend's constitutional rights had been violated during the reconstruction of the crime.[1][6]

The time of the murder was disputed;[5][1] some investigators believed that Grabenheimer had been killed between 1:00 and 7:00, which would have complicated Frend's situation,[5] while others estimated that it occurred around 9:00.[7]

Other items which police investigated were an open balcony door, from where somebody could have entered into the room,[8] other people with whom Grabenheimer had had a confrontation or who were suspects for the investigators,[5] and the hand used to kill Grabenheimer, with some saying that the killer was left-handed (used by the prosecution to accuse Frend) and others pointing to either a right-handed killer or uncertainty.[9]

Trial of Lucila Frend

Guevara, who placed Frend in the apartment at the time of the killing, charged her with Grabenheimer's murder.[6] Frend pleaded not guilty to the charges and was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation for court purposes in February 2008.[4]

In November 2009, while awaiting trial, Frend travelled to Europe.[6] Her lawyers stated that she had not fled the charges, and that the court had placed no restrictions on her movements.[10] Marina Harvey, Frend's mother, argued that Frend was working in Europe to avoid the press and the involvement in the high-profile case with the media.[10]

The trial date was set for 13 June 2011, and Frend returned from Europe to face the court.[11] Guevara announced the charges against Frend as a "double aggravated homicide" and, along with the victim's family's lawyer, asked for a sentence of life imprisonment.[11] Frend again denied the charges and confirmed her not guilty plea.[12]

On 12 July 2011, Frend was acquitted of Grabenheimer's murder in a unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel, who cited a lack of evidence.[13] After the ruling, Frend talked to the press and said that she would continue to pursue the investigation to solve the case.[13] The prosecution appealed the verdict.[14]

In December 2013, the Court of Cassation upheld her acquittal.[15] The statute of limitations for the crime expired in January 2022, and it remains unsolved.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Barbano, Rolando (7 January 2017). "El crimen imperfecto que se hizo perfecto" [The imperfect crime which turned perfect]. Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  2. ↑ "Lucila Frend recordó el día en que murió Solange" [Lucila Frend remembered the day that Solange died]. Infobae (in Spanish). 15 December 2008. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  3. ↑ "Impactante documento: así recreó Lucila la muerte de su amiga Solange" [Shocking document: the way in which Lucila simulated the death of her friend Solange]. Infobae (in Spanish). 15 June 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Sospechosa del crimen de Sol empieza pericias psiquiatricas" [Suspect in the crime of Sol begins psychiatric evaluations]. El Comercio (in Spanish). 4 February 2008. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Recchini, Diego (8 January 2022). "Tras 15 años prescribió el caso Solange y la absuelta Frend fue la única que pidió reabrir la causa" [After 15 years, the case of Solange expired, and acquitted Frend was the only person to ask for its reopening]. Télam (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 "Niegan que Lucila Frend, la joven acusada de matar a su amiga, se haya fugado" [Lucila Frend, the young woman accused of killing her friend, denies having escaped]. La Nación (in Spanish). 10 November 2009. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  7. ↑ "El crimen de Solange: se contaminó una prueba clave" [The crime of Solange: a key proof was contaminated]. Clarín (in Spanish). 28 June 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  8. ↑ "Llegó la prescripción del crimen de Solange Grabenheimer" [Prescription arrived for the crime of Solange Grabenheimer]. Página/12 (in Spanish). January 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  9. ↑ "Caso de Solange: según un experto, "el asesino usó la mano izquierda"" [Case Solange: according to an expert, the "killer used the left hand"]. Todo Noticias (in Spanish). 22 June 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  10. 1 2 "La madre de Lucila Frend aseguró que su hija viajó a Europa para rehacer su vida" [The mother of Lucila Frend assured that her daughter travelled to Europe to start anew]. La Prensa (in Spanish). 9 November 2009. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  11. 1 2 "Comienza el juicio contra Lucila Frend por el crimen de su amiga" [The trial against Lucila Frend for the crime of her friend begins]. La Prensa (in Spanish). June 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  12. ↑ "Lucila Frend volvió a defender su inocencia" [Lucila Frend defended her innocence again]. Infobae (in Spanish). June 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  13. 1 2 "Lucila Frend fue absuelta por unanimidad por el crimen de Solange" [Lucila Frend was unanimously acquitted for the crime of Solange]. La Capital (in Spanish). 12 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  14. ↑ "Apelarán la absolución de Lucila Frend sin reabrir la investigación" [Lucila Frend's acquittal to be appealed without reopening the investigation]. La Capital (in Spanish). 14 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  15. ↑ "Lucila Frend fue absuelta definitivamente por el crimen de su amiga" [Lucila Frend was definitely acquitted for the crime of her friend]. Todo Noticias (in Spanish). December 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
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