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The comedian from Salta, Camila Spears, also known as "La Trava Madrina", is hospitalized in delicate health condition after suffering a severe blow to the head that caused a "serious skull trauma", according to the head of Intensive Care at the San Bernardo Hospital, Marcelo Ruiz.

Although at first the young woman's partner had reported that she had been injured after falling down a staircase, on the night of Wednesday, February 1, prosecutor Mónica Poma, from the Femicide Unit, provisionally charged the man with "attempted homicide aggravated by the relationship between the couple and by gender violence."

"The woman's partner gave a statement and was charged. It was requested that he remain in custody while various requested measures are carried out," the Public Prosecutor's Office stated.

The sister's story

Camila's sister, Jorgelina Maza, recounted that she learned her sister was in a coma at San Bernardo Hospital through a call from her brother-in-law, who initially told her she had fallen down the stairs, though he later said she had jumped. However, Jorgelina said that once she entered the apartment, accompanied by members of the Fiscal Investigations Corps (CIF) and the Investigations Brigade, "we found a grim scene because everything was in disarray, there was a large pool of blood." Her sister's phone was destroyed, as was a chair. "It was a scene of significant violence; to me, it was definitely not an accident," she asserted.

She added that Camila's partner, named Luis, had been drinking alcohol, and added that she didn't know how long it took him to ask for help.

Jorgelina believes that, given her sister's condition, it's "difficult to interpret it as an accident": she has a bump "only on her head" and no other injury, she said. According to her classmate's account, Camila fell from a mezzanine, from a height of 3 meters.

Jorgelina said she was in daily contact with her sister and asserted that there had been episodes of violence in the relationship. "I once told him, 'Don't you raise your hand to my sister because I'm watching, I'm seeing everything.' There was already something like that going on," she confirmed. In other statements, she affirmed, "I can say with certainty that there was verbal and psychological abuse directed at my sister."

"He's going to wake up"

Camila Spears is in the Intensive Care Unit of the province's main public hospital, in an induced coma. She suffered a "severe head injury," stated the head of the Intensive Care Unit, Marcelo Ruiz, who explained that she underwent surgery and is on a ventilator.

Despite her sister's fragile health, Jorgelina said she is hopeful that "she will wake up, that she will open her eyes and be able to tell her side of the story." Regarding her partner, she stated, "Now that he is in prison, he has plenty of time to reflect, to think about everything he did, everything that happened, and I ask him to please tell the truth."

“I feel he didn’t take care of her,” because “if he had wanted a different situation, he would have left,” she asserted. Although she clarified that she wants to speak “with respect because he has his family, his group of friends, acquaintances. I shared many things with him and my family. I have an elderly mother who is going through a very difficult time,” adding that she “had great affection” for the young man and “until the justice system determines and clarifies this, I want to treat him with the utmost respect.”

The incident caused shock in the city of Salta, where Camila is well-known for her artistic work and her activism for LGBTQ+ rights. Jorgelina emphasized the support her family is receiving during this difficult time.

In this regard, Jorgelina emphasized that her sister "didn't want these acts of violence," that "she was a defender of the community, a defender of women," and suffered "every time something happened to one of the girls." "What really gets to me is that she cried so often, she'd say, 'Look what happened to her, she was my friend, she was...' and now I'm going through it with her," she lamented.

She said her family is "shocked," still struggling to comprehend what happened, but she pleaded for unity and an end to messages of violence, because "My sister always said no to violence, no to intimidation, no to harassment." She recalled that for years Camila suffered violence "for choosing who she is." She also asked that public demonstrations be held in her sister's honor, a sister who takes these things with humor, who has the ability to turn everything into laughter, "she could make you laugh out of anything, if you were feeling down she always transformed your pain into a smile."

Jorgelina said that in these times when Camila can't "have her own voice," she wants to speak for her and recounted that she promised her she wouldn't stop "until this is cleared up and justice is served." "My mother can't, she's elderly, but I'm here," she affirmed.

On Friday afternoon, a group of members of the LGBTQ+ community and friends of the young woman gathered at the Plaza IV Siglos in the city center to demonstrate, demanding justice and expressing their wish for her speedy recovery. Afterward, a group went to San Bernardo Hospital, where they held a vigil.

At the demonstration, several people asked anyone who might have witnessed acts of violence against Camila to "if they know anything, please get involved" and report it to the prosecutor's office or to her family.