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The trial concluded with the murder of Natalia Sandoval, a 35-year-old trans woman. After the verdict was read, her family and friends erupted in applause, and the judge called for silence. Natalia, who worked as a secretary, was found murdered on June 5, 2016. Her body was discovered by a couple who accidentally stopped in an open field at the intersection of Víctor Hugo and Falucho streets in Rodeo del Medio, a semi-rural area in the Maipú department, near the El Viborón lagoon. According to the prosecution, the motive was carjacking. “Both of them knew Natalia. They took advantage of their relationship, the anonymity she afforded them, and her reserved nature to murder her,” said prosecutor Laura Rousselle during closing arguments. The verdict was announced on Thursday at the Mendoza courthouse, in the presence of a small group of Natalia's trans friends, who followed each of the five days of the public trial.

The tests

The day after the body was found, police investigators located the vehicle in Costa de Araujo, Lavalle department. Two young men from Lavalle—Sergio Domínguez and Alexis Oliva, construction workers, along with two girls who were immediately cleared of involvement in the crime—were trying to sell it for only 10,000 pesos.

Forensic experts later found traces of Natalia's blood on the passenger seat and the roof of the car. Investigators also seized Natalia's cell phone from the home of relatives of Domínguez who had bought it for her.

Special Crimes Prosecutor Santiago Garay charged Domínguez and Oliva with homicide committed during the commission of a crime. He inferred that they had murdered her to steal her car and cell phone. He added the aggravating circumstance of a relationship between the victim and Domínguez, believing they had a romantic relationship, a claim that was dismissed during the trial. The two construction workers were taken to the Boulogne Sur Mer prison to await trial, which began on November 24.

“She changed her name in 2015 and that made her happy.”

Natalia Sandoval worked as a secretary for a trans astrologer from the age of 20. On weekends, she worked as a hairdresser. She lived with her mother in a house in Rodeo del Medio, Maipú. She had a very close relationship with her brother, a member of the Mendoza Police. She was known in the local LGBTQ+ community because she had participated several times as a candidate in a festival that has become a Mendoza classic: the Gay Harvest Festival.

“Natalia was very private. She changed her name in 2015, and that made her very happy. Everyone at work adored her. She got along very well with her mother and had a great relationship with her brother, a police officer. He and his girlfriend accompanied her when she ran for office in the Vendimia festival,” explained Adriana, the astrologer who was her friend and with whom she worked for 15 years, yesterday in court.

READ MORE: “Transvesticide, the final link in the chain of daily violence against transvestites and trans people”

“Natalia was a woman, as indicated by her birth certificate and national identity document. Unfortunately, she crossed paths with these two people who took advantage of her,” said lawyer Mariano Tello. Tello acted as a plaintiff along with Cristian Zangoli, representing the victim's mother, Magdalena Montován.