- Ramon Angel Abregú escaped from prison just months after murdering his wife
- The 70-year-old spent 22 years on the run from the police, hiding in the jungle
A man convicted of murdering his pregnant wife appears poised to avoid further prison time after emerging from his rainforest hideout 22 years later.
Ramon Angel Abregú, now 70, escaped from prison months after serving a 20-year sentence for shooting his wife Eva Falcón in January 2000 in the city of Río Grande, in Argentina’s southernmost tip.
He spent the next 22 years avoiding detection by police, hiding in a rainforest in northern Argentina.
On the day of the attack, local news sources reported that Abregú attacked Falcón, who was seven months pregnant, in her home with a 9-millimeter caliber weapon.
The wounded man, Falcón reportedly managed to escape and took refuge in the guard room of the Cemep Clinic, where Abregú caught up with her and killed her with four more shots.
Ramon Angel Abregú, now 70, escaped from prison months after serving a 20-year sentence for shooting his wife Eva Falcón in January 2000 in the city of Río Grande, in Argentina’s southernmost tip
According to Argentine newspaper Clarín, Abregú remained hidden in the jungle in Chaco Salteño and managed to re-enter Tierra del Fuego province on Wednesday without being detected by authorities
Pictured: The clinic where 70-year-old Ramon Angel Abregu killed his pregnant wife Eva Falcón in January 2000 in Rio Grande, Argentina
It is understood that Abregú escaped from a Margen Sur prison in February of the following year and hid in a truck en route to Chile.
All these years, Abregú remained hidden in the jungle in Chaco Salteño and managed to re-enter Tierra del Fuego province on Wednesday without being discovered by authorities, according to Argentine newspaper Clarín.
They said he appeared in court to request that the case be time-barred, while his lawyer Alejandro De la Riva revealed that Abregú passed through two Argentine and two Chilean border crossings “secretly” and without documents.
“The statute of limitations is 20 years. This is the period during which he managed to remain hidden as a refugee. “He served his sentence this way,” De la Riva reportedly told Tierra del Fuego media.
But the process may not be so simple and some legal issues related to what happened still need to be resolved, sources at the intervening law enforcement agency told Clarín.
“The principles of international treaties adopted by the country are relevant and could be applied to deny this person his freedom,” they said.
Although the Chaco Salteño has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world, it is an important agricultural frontier area with over six million hectares of forest.
It is home to a wide ethnic and cultural diversity, including small-scale ranchers and indigenous peoples.