Madrid (EFE).- The defense of Daniel Sancho, accused of the premeditated murder of the Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta, denounced this Monday that he had been the victim of a scam after a man claimed to have an important protected witness for the case in Thailand. against the son of actor Rodolfo Sancho.
According to a statement published by the Balfagón-Chippirrás law firm, which collaborates with Sancho’s defense, led by lawyer Marcos García Montes, a Colombian citizen named Alberth Araque Trejo would have contacted the accused through Instagram offering him a video of Arrieta in “aggressive attitude towards a minor.”
In addition, Araque assured him that there was a complaint filed in 2017 against the surgeon for “the commission of the crime of an abusive and violent sexual act” against a minor in Colombia.
“Estimating that the aforementioned complaint could be of interest for the case pursued in Thailand against Daniel Sancho, this representation requested that said information be accredited in a reliable manner,” stated the law firm, whom Araque put in contact with a third person. who would also have filed a complaint against Arrieta in 2021, in this case in Venezuela.
Alleged witness
This man promised to go to Thailand as a protected witness to testify at the trial, but ultimately said appearance did not take place, despite the fact that Sancho’s legal team financed “all the expenses,” according to the office.
The defense of the young Spaniard also transferred to this person a total of 800 euros to pay for the “submission of documentation” related to the complaints to a public official or the competent authority to legalize them, in order to be provided as evidence in the judgment.
“This amount included the foreseeable expenses of legalizing the complaint, plus the travel expenses from the town of Santiago de Tolú, the then minor’s place of work, to Cali, where the mother, custodian of the complaint, resided, as well as the return”, the office has specified.
However, last December, a few days after the payment, Araque informed Sancho’s defense that the minor’s mother did not wish to file the complaint, to which the office requested the return of the unused money.
However, Araque demanded more money from Sancho under the threat of making all this information known to the media.
The firm has defended that with the payments it only intended to achieve “the viability of this evidence within the right of defense” and has announced that it reserves its right to take “legal action” against Araque for the crimes of “misappropriation, state and extortion.” ”.
The trial against Sancho concluded on May 2 in Koh Samui (Thailand) after a process that lasted nearly a month. The date for the reading of the full sentence has been set for August 29 at 10 in the morning.
