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Colombia confirms that bodies found are from Óscar Villacís and Katty Velasco
Posted On 05 Jul 2018
Ecuadornews:
The National Institute of Legal Medicine of Colombia confirmed on Wednesday to the relatives of Katty Velasco and Óscar Villacís that the bodies found in Tumaco (Department of Nariño) belong to the couple who were kidnapped two and a half months ago. The verification was done by fingerprints.
The Office of the Prosecutor of Colombia, together with the National Institute of Legal Medicine, were the entities in charge of delivering the information to the sister and mother of Óscar Villacís, and to the sister and another relative of Katty Velasco.
The Institute received the bodies on Tuesday from the Office of the Prosecutor and today began with the forensic study. A complete identification was made through fingerprints that were compared with the ID´s that brought the bodies and with documents that were sent from Ecuador.
The fingerprints remained preserved and therefore the respective fingerprints could be taken. “The comparison was completed with a totally reliable result,” said Carlos Valdés, director of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine.
About the approximate time of death, relatives were informed that they were murdered two months ago, due to the state that the bodies were found. Óscar’s sister, Elvia Villacís, indicated that the death would have occurred after they sent the video as proof of life, since the times would coincide.
The government of Ecuador, through the National Communication Secretariat, condemned the death of its citizens and assured that it is working “expeditiously” with the Colombian authorities to repatriate the bodies.
“We will not rest until we find those responsible for these reprehensible acts,” he said in a statement.
Katty Velasco was 20 years old and the mother of a 5-year-old girl, while Óscar was 24 years old, had two children and worked as a painter. In April they decided to travel on a motorcycle to Colombia to buy merchandise, according to the version of their relatives. The last connection they had with their relatives was on April 11, when they were told they were in San Lorenzo, Esmeraldas.
The couple was kidnapped by the group led by alias Guacho, and the government came a video in which Katty and Óscar asked to be rescued. From that date families began to demand information from the central government and interior and justice ministries. They assured that they never met neither with President Lenin Moreno nor with the ministers.
Hoping to find them alive, they held a raffle to raise funds and travel to Colombia. The Colombian authorities assured them that the couple would be alive because the case was carried differently than that of the El Comercio journalists who were kidnapped and murdered.
The sisters of the murdered couple hope to return as soon as possible to Ecuador to watch over them and to bury them. (I)
