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By Alexis Oliva, from Córdoba

The Criminal Court of Appeals in Córdoba has approved the indictment of the man who murdered Azul Montoro, a 23-year-old trans woman who was stabbed 18 times. The crime was committed in a boarding house near the North Market in the city of Córdoba, in the early morning of October 18, 2017.

Fabián Alejandro Casiva, also 23, will be tried for "aggravated homicide due to gender-based violence" and "theft during a calamity" for stealing a cell phone. He is also charged with property damage and violating Law No. 14346, which protects animals from cruelty, because before fleeing he killed the dog of a friend from Azul who rented the room and was away on a trip.

Captured a few hours after the crime, Casiva was declared not criminally responsible based on a psychiatric and psychological evaluation. At the request of the plaintiffs and the prosecution, a second evaluation deemed him aware and responsible for his actions. In November 2018, the Control Court approved the indictment requested by investigating prosecutor Guillermo González, but the defense appealed.

[READ MORE: Azul Montoro was killed with 18 stab wounds: one person has been arrested]

With domination, asymmetry, and machismo

Finally, the judges of the Court of Appeals, Patricia Farías, Maximiliano Davies, and Carlos Salazar, ordered the case to proceed to trial. It will take place in the 9th Criminal Court, likely later this year. As proposed by the prosecution and supported by the presiding judge and the Court of Appeals, the murder of Azul, a trans woman, could become the first case in Córdoba's criminal history in which the legal definition of "femicide" is applied to a trans victim.

Prosecutor González told Presentes that “the Court shared the opinion held by the second expert report that Casiva is criminally responsible for his actions.” He added: “These acts, in principle, constitute femicide. I believe that Azul’s gender identity, recognized as female by the Civil Code on her national identity document, played a role in the motivation for killing her.”

[READ MORE: #Cordoba Hate crime against a young trans woman: “She was brutally and treacherously murdered”]]

In the Chamber's resolution, Judge Farías supported this position and explained the aggravating circumstance of gender violence , shared by her peers: "In the specific case, there was a situation of domination, imposition of will, suffering and damage on the part of the accused Casiva" and "the event occurred in a relationship of inequality and asymmetry and the aggression towards the victim was due to the fact of being a woman," based on a "machista positioning."

A step towards ending impunity

Lawyer Tomás Aramayo represents Azul's parents as a plaintiff. He believes the trial could be " a major step forward for the fight for trans women's rights " and break the impunity that their perpetrators often enjoy. He emphasizes the role of the expert witnesses, psychiatrist Raúl Quiroga and psychologist Fabiana Boerr, who "succeeded in demonstrating that Casiva was fully responsible for his actions and that he had feigned ignorance of what had happened that night."

“Despite the prosecutor’s excellent investigation, if we hadn’t proposed these experts, Casiva would be walking the streets today without a care in the world,” Aramayo stated.
She also praised the support provided by the Provincial Human Rights Secretariat for clarifying the case, which was prompted by the immediate mobilization of Azul’s friends and coworkers, LGBTQ+ groups, and the Córdoba chapter of the Association of Sex Workers of Argentina (AMMAR). A publication from the Córdoba Ministry of Justice and Human Rights highlighted the ruling as “great news in the fight against femicides and the recognition of LGBTQ+ rights.”

A little relief and justice

Among those friends who mobilized was Lara Godoy, born in San Juan and who had emigrated to Córdoba in search of work, just as Azul came from her native San Luis. Their friendship was born from sharing the streets and nights together. Lara was ten years older than her and was “like her older sister, always trying to take care of her.”

“Trans people have a blood family and a chosen family, the one you meet on the street. This has been very hard for her family and for all of us,” she tells Presentes.

With the trial approaching, Lara is experiencing “a complete mix of emotions: nothing the court decides will bring my friend back, but it’s an enormous relief. I’ve received tons of calls and I have goosebumps.” She’s trying to hope for a just verdict: “ Most cases of murdered trans women go nowhere. In Azul’s case, nothing would have been possible if her family and friends hadn’t persisted and sought out good experts . Now there seems to be a positive attitude from the justice system, and that gives us hope.”

“Azul was beautiful in every way,” Lara recalls. “She had a strong character and was an excellent person. This is the first time I’ve lost someone so dear, and it’s horrible. Every day I ask myself a million questions about what happened the night she was killed. Now the truth will come out.”