LIMA: A Venezuelan man, Sergio Tarache Parra, accused of a heinous crime in Peru, has been extradited to Lima. The incident involved the brutal burning of his ex-girlfriend, 18-year-old Katherine Gomez, in a town square in March 2023.
The shocking crime occurred shortly after Gomez had ended the relationship with Tarache.
Tarache, who had fled to Colombia, was apprehended the following month. Security cameras captured the perpetrator fleeing the scene, leading Peruvian authorities to offer a reward for information leading to his capture.
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Gomez, suffering from severe burns covering 60% of her body, succumbed to her injuries after six agonizing days in the hospital.
Peruvian prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for Tarache in connection with this femicide case. The incident has highlighted the pervasive issue of femicide in the country, contributing to one of the region’s highest tallies in absolute numbers, according to the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
This tragic event echoes a similar crime in 2018 when another man in Lima set his ex-girlfriend, Eva Agreda, on fire inside a bus, resulting in her death days later. The case underscores the urgency of addressing and combating gender-based violence in the region.