Germán Cáceres: former police officer sentenced to 34 years in prison for femicide in Ecuador

(CNN Spanish) — One of the cases of femicide that unleashed in 2022 the mobilization and repudiation of Ecuadorian society had an outcome in the first instance before the courts this Thursday.

The State Attorney General’s Office achieved the maximum sentence against former police officer Germán Cáceres for the femicide of his wife María Belén Bernal that occurred in September 2022 inside the Higher Police School located on the outskirts of Quito.

A court of criminal guarantees unanimously sentenced Cáceres to 34 years and 8 months in prison as the direct perpetrator of the crime of femicide, the maximum aggravated sentence, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.

In addition, the statement ensures that the Court ordered that, as a reparation measure, Germán Cáceres “must pay US$ 234,600 in favor of the victim’s next of kin, a fine of 1,000 unified basic salaries and that psychological therapy be provided for the mother and victim’s son.

In addition, in the statement they state that it was “proven that the relationship of power that the defendant violated over María Belén Bernal was manifested through physical violence exercised before, during and even up to the moment of her death.”

Lawyer María Belén Bernal was murdered after she was admitted on September 11 to the Higher Police School, where Cáceres worked as an instructor. That was the last time Bernal was seen alive, according to police reports. Ten days after her disappearance, search teams found her body on Cerro Casitagua, in Quito, a few kilometers from the police school.

Cáceres was a fugitive for three months and was captured in Colombia at the end of December thanks to the coordinated work between the Police authorities and the Prosecutor’s Office of the two countries. On January 3, he was expelled from Colombia and arrived in Quito guarded by Interpol agents.

During the trial hearing, the former police officer gave his testimony in which he accepted having made an attempt on his wife’s life and apologized to the family, specifying that he had no intention of killing her, revealed the Prosecutor’s Office.

The feeling of the victim’s mother

Elizabeth Otavalo, mother of María Belén Bernal, said at the end of the trial hearing that she was satisfied that the court had imposed the maximum sentence against the former police officer.

“This does not give me back to my María Belén, I will continue on the streets (…) This is part of it, we are going to continue fighting and continue asking for justice,” Otavalo told the media after leaving the hearing.

Sebastián Espinosa, defense attorney for Germán Cáceres, told reporters that his client should be tried for homicide and not for femicide, which would have reduced the sentence to at least 10 years. However, the request was not accepted by the court.

Espinosa added that Cáceres acknowledged her responsibility for Bernal’s death.

Cáceres’ defense will appeal the court’s decision. CNN contacted the ex-policeman’s lawyer who indicated that he is waiting to be notified of the sentence to start the process. He also insisted that the appeal will request a review of the criminal offense for which Cáceres was sentenced and a review of the process.

The Prosecutor’s Office also presented as evidence a “psychological autopsy” that was performed on Bernal. This judicial proceeding revealed that there was a power relationship that included acts of humiliation by Cáceres that were perpetrated, even at the time of the femicide.

This was compared with an audio recorded on Bernal’s phone where a previous discussion that Cáceres had before killing her was recorded.

Finally, the court confirmed the state of innocence of Lieutenant Alfonso Camacho who was prosecuted in the case for his alleged participation “by omission” in the femicide. The court determined that it could not be verified whether or not Camacho heard the screams and requests for help from the victim inside the Higher Police School.

“Justice was done with an innocent man. The proof is compelling. There was proof that he did not listen, “said Gladys Terán, Camacho’s lawyer at the end of the hearing.