Starting today, the walls of 1214 Paraguay Avenue reflect the cry for justice of a community shocked by the brutal death of little Leonel Francia, 11 years old. The boy, a resident of the Solidaridad neighborhood, died after apparently being beaten fiercely by his mother, who allegedly pierced his skull with an iron. The autopsy revealed chilling data about his last hours and made it clear that he had pre-existing injuries, showing that he apparently suffered constant violence from his mother, Lidia Cardozo.
Starting today, the walls of 1214 Paraguay Avenue reflect the cry for justice of a community shocked by the brutal death of little Leonel Francia, 11 years old. The boy, a resident of the Solidaridad neighborhood, died after apparently being beaten fiercely by his mother, who allegedly pierced his skull with an iron. The autopsy revealed chilling data about his last hours and made it clear that he had pre-existing injuries, showing that he apparently suffered constant violence from his mother, Lidia Cardozo.
According to what was said by the Preparatory Foundation for the People, the mural was planned a long time ago and due to various obstacles its completion had been delayed. Finally, thanks to the kindness of a family, they found a place to show Leonel’s face with a big smile, along with his name. This is an initiative that is presented as a strong demand for justice and that seeks to raise awareness among Salteños about the importance of getting involved in such sensitive cases that involve our childhoods. The work was created by the artist Eduardo Moya, a muralist from Salta, who did the work in solidarity.
The voice of Leonel’s father
During the event, they highlighted that the father was always present. However, they stressed that he had justice and the child’s mother against him. “For me it is very important to have Leonel on a mural and for the community to know what happened to him.” And he highlighted that the little boy helped his mother in every way. “I never found out that he worked under obligation, but that he did it with love. I never knew that her mother hit her, she was totally unaware of that.”
Then, he recalled that there were times when he noticed that he had a purple leg, which is why he asked him if his mother had mistreated him, to which Leonel responded: “No, dad, my mom doesn’t hit me.” And he explained: “He told me that he was falling, one day I arrived and saw that he had a swollen cheekbone on his face and I also asked him what had happened to him, but he always answered that he had jumped the ball. That he wanted to score a goal and he jumped next to another boy and that’s where that happened to him.”
The last day he saw his son
Furthermore, the little boy’s father expressed: “Unfortunately I no longer have my son, I have no resignation, I am devastated. It’s not that I’m playing the victim like many say, I would like them to be in my shoes. The day before I saw Leonel and told him, take care. He left and the next morning they called me from the Papa Francisco Hospital and told me that my son was in a coma. When I arrived they told me that he had already died, that in fact he entered without vital signs.”
The hard moment when he found out about his son’s death
And he continued: “Then they took him away in a bag, it was terrible. And then her mother, if you can call her a mother, came out accompanied by the police and they took her away. I didn’t know what to do, the police asked me everything, since I have nothing to hide. My son did not tell me that he was a victim of beatings.”
Likewise, he stated: “For me it was a bucket of cold water to find out that it was the mother who murdered him.” Then she said that Lidia Cardozo had a “violent way of being” and she wanted to fix everything with screams, but she never thought that she could kill her son.
Finally, he expressed: “We are doing everything possible to ensure that justice is done for this. I will not stop until my son’s soul can rest in peace. “I ask that justice be voracious in this case and I want an exemplary sentence.”
