Perpetual Imprisonment for Man Convicted of Intimate Femicide in San Vicente de Tagua Tagua

Original article: Presidio perpetuo para autor de femicidio íntimo en San Vicente de Tagua Tagua

The Oral Criminal Court in Rancagua sentenced Francisco Javier Ramírez Flores to life imprisonment on Friday, February 6, as the perpetrator of the completed crime of intimate femicide, committed in December 2021 in the commune of San Vicente de Tagua Tagua.

Additionally, an absolute disqualification from holding public office and political rights was imposed for the entirety of the convict’s life.

In a unanimous decision (case number 537-2025), the court – composed of judges Paulina Bossy Chaparro (president), Fadua Salas Eljatib, and Marcela Paredes Olave (reporter) – also acquitted Ramírez Flores of the prosecution’s charges of illegal burial since that was subsumed by the intimate femicide conviction.

«Once the ruling is finalized, the court ordered a biological sample to be taken from the convicted individual to determine his genetic fingerprint for inclusion in the national DNA registry of convicted individuals,» reported the Judicial Power bulletin.

The Facts

The court established, beyond a reasonable doubt, that since mid-2021, the 18-year-old victim had been living with Francisco Javier Ramírez Flores, residing during part of the latter half of that year on Las Piedras road s/n, near the Zúñiga area of San Vicente de Tagua Tagua.

There, the investigation noted, the convict worked as a horseman and caretaker, living with his partner in a rudimentary shelter, along with a pattern of verbal and physical mistreatment occurring repeatedly throughout their time together, creating a cycle of habitual violence and abuse.

Ultimately, the court indicated that in December 2021, the perpetrator murdered his partner at their residence and subsequently proceeded to «bury her near where they slept, tying her feet and hiding her beneath the ground, alongside other items, animal bones, and trash to conceal his crime.»

Gender Perspective

The ruling addressed in detail the application of a gender perspective within the justice system.

«It is important to note that the criminal charges relate to acts of what is classified as gender violence or violence against women, as asserted by the prosecutors,» the court stated.

On this matter, the resolution recalled that the Inter-American Convention to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Violence against Women, also known as the Belém do Pará Convention, establishes that the subject of protection is, precisely, women.

«This is explicitly stated in its preamble and is concretized when defining, in Article 1, the behavior intended to be sanctioned, which is violence against women, defined as any action or conduct, based on gender, that causes death, harm, or physical, sexual, or psychological suffering to women, both in public and private spheres,» emphasizes the judicial document.

«Additionally,» the court added, «the dynamic of the events demonstrates elements common to crimes of this nature, such as the persistent and repeated violence exhibited by the accused toward his partner.»

«Thus, this is not a neutral incident in terms of the victim’s sex or gender; rather, it is a crime committed precisely because of that condition, which warrants recognition, as violence constitutes the most serious form of discrimination against women, reinforcing their subordinate status,» the ruling stressed.

Finally, in regard to the use of gender perspective in this case, the judges emphasized that it helps prevent bias.

«It should be remembered, as stated in the Good Practices Handbook for incorporating Gender Perspective in Sentences, that the gender perspective is not about favoring one of the parties simply for being a woman; instead, it serves as a method or analytical tool aimed at understanding cultural constructions and social relations between men and women, identifying the underlying forms of interaction that create patterns of inequality and discrimination between genders,» the ruling indicates.

«Therefore, the use of this tool becomes imperative for these judges, and likewise, researchers and experts must also use the relevant tools and protocols, as demonstrated by the testimonies provided,» concludes the judicial report.

El Ciudadano