LEBU – Tomás’ great-uncle was arrested as suspect in the killing of three-year-old Tomás Bravo. A hand-drawn map of the area where a toddler went missing is a key piece of evidence. The boy’s body was returned to the family on Monday, following the autopsy.
The nine-day search for Tomás Bravo concluded after firefighters found the 3-year-old’s body on the side of a rural road during the weekend. The public prosecutor told local media that “this was not accidental, there are signs of third-party intervention.” The boy’s great-uncle, Jorge Escobar, was arrested. He was the last person Tomás was seen with.
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A hand-drawn map of the area where Tomás went missing was found in Escobar’s bedroom and serves as evidence for the public prosecutor. In addition, authorities grew suspicious when they noticed learned speech in Escobar’s account of events. But his lawyer, Pedro Aguilera, told Cooperativa news site “it isn’t possible to talk about learned speech, considering it is a sensible deposition that matches my client’s school level; he made it to eighth grade.”
"#Concepción llora, #Chile llora",dice uno de los carteles puestos en la reja del SML penquista @Cooperativa #CooperativaRegiones #CooperativaEnCasa pic.twitter.com/0lGJot7JdK
— Nelson Ojeda Sazo (@nelsonojedasazo) February 28, 2021
Meanwhile, family members are defending Escobar. His sister, Tomás’ grandmother, told broadcaster Chilevisión that authorities pressured Escobar into accepting the charges.
Prosecutor José Ortiz told news site Meganoticias that “with a naked eye, there aren’t any physical injuries” perceptible on the boy’s body, although “a blood trail was found and an attempt to dig a grave.”
Ortiz has said the autopsy results will be presented on Mar. 2.
Francisco is finishing his degree in Journalism at Universidad Finis Terrae in Santiago.