Keishla Perez Bigio guilty of the murder of her stepmother, businesswoman Hilda Padilla Romero

Bayamon – A little more than four years after the events occurred, the judge Mariela Miranda Recioof the Court of First Instance of Bayamondeclared guilty Keishla Perez Bigio of the murder of his stepmother, the businesswoman Hilda Padilla Romero, which was perpetrated on September 30, 2019, on Los Filtros Avenue, in Guaynabo.

Before a packed room 605, Miranda Recio also found guilty William Aviles Gonzalezfor murder, after listening to the final arguments presented by the Prosecutor’s Office and the defense.

At the time the ruling was issued, the Chief of Prosecutors, Jessika Correa Gonzalez; the daughter and best friend of the victim, Yaireishka Morales Padilla and Maria Rojas, respectively; and Juan Perez Colonfather of Perez Bigio and who was Padilla Romero’s partner at the time the crime was perpetrated.

“Keishla Perez Bigio is the creative mind of this crime, who after conceiving in her mind the death of her stepmother… puts a plan in motion: hiring Luis Gonzalez Martinez (confessed murderer) to solve the problem of his stepmother, said prosecutor Carmen Iris Ortiz Rodriguez, during her argument.

Ortiz Rodriguez – who worked the case alongside prosecutors Gracielys Vega Bermudez and Ivan Rivera Labrador – indicated that Perez Bigio was the one who allegedly provided all the information that Aviles Gonzalez and Gonzalez Martinez needed to kill Padilla Romero.

The prosecutor emphasized that Aviles Gonzalez was the person who was driving the Hyundai Elantra vehicle from which Gonzalez Martinez shot the victim. “He followed all the instructions to execute the plan,” stressed Ortiz Rodriguez, who indicated that 11 calls were recorded between Gonzalez Martinez and Perez Bigio on the day of the crime.

“We have the mastermind of this crime here: it is Keishla Perez Bigio… She is the intellectual author of the crime,” stated Ortiz Rodriguez, looking straight into the eyes of Perez Bigio, who was sitting on one of the first benches in the room. “Keishla offered payment for the execution of the crime,” mentioned.

According to the Public Ministry, Perez Bigio agreed to pay Gonzalez Martinez $2,000 for the murder, but ended up paying $1,500. Ortiz Rodriguez stated that, after receiving the payment, Gonzalez Martinez kept $750 and gave $750 to Aviles Gonzalez.

The murder of Padilla Romero occurred on September 30, 2019, while the victim was driving, after 5:30 pm, a black Honda Pilot bus, accompanied by her two daughters, ages 8 and 17, along Los Avenida. Filters, right next to Hogar Crea, in Guaynabo.

“They (the daughters) were in that car and near the areas where they were located (on the bus) bullet holes were found,” Ortiz Rodriguez said.

Defense claim

During his final argument, attorney Carlos Beltran – who led Perez Bigio’s defense team – pleaded before the court for a determination of no cause to be made on the charges of attempted murder, as well as pointing and firing a firearm. .

“(The minors) came out unharmed… In terms of gunshot wounds, these girls did not suffer any damage,” said Beltran, who mentioned that, during the trial, the Public Ministry did not present elements that prove “intention to shoot and attempted murder against the minors, in accordance with the law.”

Furthermore, Beltran stated that the testimony of the daughter of the victim, – who identified the voice heard in three audio recordings presented by the Prosecutor’s Office as that of Perez Bigio -, It was a setup by the Prosecutor’s Office. “They practiced it in her office (the Prosecutor’s Office)… She had listened to the audios,” he said.

During his testimony in court on October 26, Morales Padilla identified the voice heard in the three recordings as that of “Keishla Perez Bigio.” “I am 100% sure,” the young woman responded to questions from the Prosecutor’s Office. In fact, she explained that she could “recognize” her voice because she had heard it several times.

In summary, the three audio recordings were extracted by the Department of Justice from a cell phone occupied by Gonzalez Martinez, who was initially the Public Ministry’s star witness in the case, but later withdrew his cooperation and is seeking to suppress his confession about the murder. .

The audios were sent to Gonzalez Martinez’s cell phone between July 9 and 11, 2019, two months before the murder of Padilla Romero.

“I have to get rid of this parasite, which is affecting me and my children… Tell me when we are going to work on that, come on. “I’m already motivated,” a woman is heard saying in one of the recordings. “I’m crying Luis because that pu##, that pu##, man, you don’t really know… I argued with my dad because of that pu##,” he adds.

They allege that the right was restricted

During the judicial process, the legal representation of Perez Bigio and Aviles Gonzalez has stated that their clients’ constitutional right to be able to question Gonzalez Martinez regarding the three audio recordings has been restricted, since the latter decided not to cooperate with the authorities in the case.

On this matter, Beltran added today that “that this entire process has affected our right to cross-examine Luis Gonzalez Martinez. That very important constitutional right to establish reasonable doubt was violated.”

With these expressions the Edwin Castro, legal representative of Aviles Gonzalez, during his final arguments. On more than one occasion, Castro indicated that he restricted his client’s right to cross-examine Gonzalez Martinez regarding the audio recordings.

Castro highlighted that the scientific evidence presented by the Public Ministry does not show that Aviles Gonzalez was at the scene of the crime. “That young man was never in that vehicle (where the victim was allegedly shot),” he added. “William Aviles Gonzalez is not responsible for the death of Hilda Padilla,” he maintained.

The evidence presented by the Prosecutor’s Office

During the trial, the Bayamon Prosecutor’s Office presented extensive evidence, which included testimonies and reference evidence and demonstrative evidence, including the three audio recordings. As part of the case, the Prosecutor’s Office also had over 20 witnesses, among whom the victim’s daughter stands out.

From the evidence presented, it appears that Padilla Romero received five gunshot wounds to his body, one of which was fired “three feet or less” from the victim, causing a “gunpowder tattoo” or an injury produced when the shot was fired. ago at a short distance, revealed the pathologist of the Institute of Forensic Sciences (ICF), Francisco Davila.

14 bullet casings were recovered at the scene.

The ICF firearms examiner, Jackeline Berriosconfirmed that the bullet casings and projectiles that were recovered at the scene are compatible with a black pistol, Glock brand, model 27, caliber .40, that was seized from Gonzalez Martinez. “They were shot by that firearm,” Berrios validated.