2023-11-01 00:38:15
The lawyer for the family of Salvador Altamura, the lawyer who disappeared in July 2020 and who is suspected of being murdered in Quilmes, asked that the only accused, Rubén Darío Dening, be sentenced to life in prison. The lawyer assured that the accused committed the crime for “economic” reasons since he was going through a “difficult financial situation.”
Brian Vidal, who represents the family of Altamura (48), gave his argument this Tuesday afternoon before the Oral Criminal Court (TOC) 3 of Quilmes. It lasted about 45 minutes in room A of the judicial courts of that district, located at 475 Hipólito Irigoyen Avenue, according to the Télam agency.
Read also: The accused broke the silence for the disappearance of lawyer Salvador Altamura in Quilmes
Vidal requested that Dening (55) be convicted as a co-author of the “robbery qualified by his commission through the use of a real key, in competition with the homicide qualified by preparing, facilitating, consummating and seeking impunity”, the same qualification that the trial prosecutor, Andrés Nieva Woodgate, and which provides for a sentence of life imprisonment.
Rubén Darío Dening during the trial. (Photo: El Progreso Newspaper)
According to Vidal, it was proven during the debate that “Altamura was murdered in Dening’s warehouse to take away certain assets, such as his Honda motorcycle, a gray helmet, his cell phone and the keys to his house,” to where the accused went and “He stole an undetermined amount of money in dollars and a 9-millimeter Taurus gun.”
“The entire trial was based on testimonial, image and scientific evidence. They all say it is the same person (the culprit), Dario Daning. No person doubted that it was him. The motivation: clearly this is a crime whose motivation is economic,” he remarked before the judges.
Read also: Crime of the lawyer Altamura: a witness pointed out Commissioner Centurión, accused in the Lucas Escalante case
In his arguments, he stated that Dening – who was Altamura’s best friend – was in a “difficult financial situation”, and defended his words with the testimonies of witnesses throughout the trial.
“Through witnesses it was determined that he was having financial problems, that his financial situation was not good and that he turned to his friend, who lent him two thousand dollars, and who told him that it was the last amount of money he would lend him. That generated a disagreement between them,” he indicated before judges Rubén Darío Hernández, Alejandro Oscar Portunato and Julián Busteros.
Read also: From the betrayal of a friend to the search for a body: the story of the disappearance of a lawyer in Quilmes
During his presentation, Vidal reviewed the different testimonies from the trial and the expenses incurred by the accused after the disappearance of his friend: the purchase of cell phones and his accommodation in an apart hotel in the central area of Quilmes.
Meanwhile, Dening was present at the hearing dressed in the same way as the previous days and taking notes as the lawyer advanced his argument.
Before presenting the qualification and the request for punishment, Vidal expressed: “There is no doubt that Dening is a violent person and that he lies to defend himself.” In this sense, he said that “his truths about him are half-truths since he sought to accommodate his speech in time and place with the pretext of diverting attention and evading responsibilities.”
Rubén Darío Dening the day he spoke for the first time before the Quilmes court. (Photo: courtesy Andrea V. Arias)
After asking for the legal qualification for homicide criminis causa, the lawyer requested that “the betrayal of his friend of more than 40 years” and the disappearance of the victim’s body be taken as aggravating factors “which entails greater pain for his family”.
After Vidal’s plea, lawyer Ana María Pecone spoke, representing Altamura’s teenage daughter, who spoke from Spain through the virtual platform Zoom.
“Unfortunately Salvador is not here to tell us what happened, what Dening did, but the evidence spoke for him in the debate. Dening, far from clarifying some situations, had childish, contradictory and lying responses,” he said.
For Pecone, Dening had “narcissistic behavior,” which “made us, the judges and the lawyers, underestimate us.” “He is solely responsible for the death of Altamura, who, being his friend, led him into his death trap. He is violent, and his testimony was crude,” he indicated before joining the request for conviction and punishment from his colleague and the trial prosecutor.
Salvador Altamura was last seen more than 3 years ago
The victim was last seen on July 13, 2020 in the afternoon with the accused, in a warehouse located at 1210 Rodríguez Peña Street in the town of Bernal, Quilmes district.
In the request to bring him to trial, prosecutor Santoro maintained that Dening “in order to prepare his subsequent illicit actions and with the purpose of achieving impunity, he killed Salvador Altamura.”
Read also: Justice ruled the lack of merit for the polo player who ran over and killed a man on July 9
For the prosecution, after murdering his friend, the accused took the victim’s motorcycle and went to his apartment, located on 25 de Mayo Street, in the heart of Quilmes, where “he illegitimately seized a sum of money.” unspecified and a 9 millimeter caliber firearm” that belonged to the lawyer.
One of the pieces of evidence highlighted by the prosecution was that after the lawyer’s disappearance, Dening acquired a television, two cell phones and a receipt of payment was found for a law firm for the amount of US$5,000.
In addition, the testimony of family and friends of the victim was key, who agreed that due to his physical build, the person who was filmed entering the victim’s apartment in the early morning of July 14, 2020 was not the lawyer.
The last image where you can see Altamura with Dening minutes before the disappearance. (Photo: courtesy of Norma Wambold)
Another detail that prosecutor Santoro did not overlook was that the driver made the wrong entry and exit gate to the building, which, according to the request, was “an unusual maneuver on the part of the regular residents.” .
Read also: They murdered a man with a gunshot to the head in front of his children when he went out to work
At the time of being arrested, while trying to enter Entre Ríos by bicycle, the accused had the aforementioned sum of money in his possession and was also wearing a jacket that belonged to Altamura.
Prosecutor Santoro split the case, as he continues with the investigation to find the lawyer’s body. Since April 2022, the Buenos Aires Ministry of Security has offered a reward of between $2,500,000 and $5,000,000 for anyone who provides information to find him.
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