Young influencer murdered by an unrequited fellow student
The young 21-year-old student was found inside a car in an open field in the capital of Cordoba
Catalina Gutiérrez, a 21-year-old influencer, was found murdered in the early hours of Thursday, July 18, in the city of Córdoba, Argentina. The young woman, who had been reported missing on Wednesday, July 17, was found dead inside a Renault Clio parked in an open field located at 3900 Pedro Echagüe Street, in the Ampliación Kennedy neighborhood.
The Córdoba Police arrested Néstor Aguilar Soto, a young man of the same age, a friend and classmate of the victim, as the main suspect in the crime. Soto reportedly attempted to set the vehicle on fire.
Catalina, an Architecture student at the National University of Córdoba, had been reported missing around 9 p.m. on Wednesday after not returning to her house in the Inaudi neighborhood. The young woman had planned to meet with friends at Patio Olmos and she had borrowed her mother's car to attend the meeting, to which she never arrived.
Her concern over her absence led her sister and her friends to use the tracking system on her Apple cell phone, managing to locate the vehicle. The car was found shortly after midnight on 3900 Pedro Echagüe Street, in an area surrounded by open fields but with homes and public lighting a few meters away.
Catalina was the daughter of Marcelo Gutiérrez, a renowned architect from Córdoba, and she had attended high school at Colegio 25 de Mayo.
Néstor Aguilar Soto, had approached the police station to testify as a friend of the victim, but his statement had many inconsistencies, and he ended up confessing to the murder. “He was the love of my life,” Soto said during interrogation. The young man had established a friendship with Catalina three years ago when he moved to Córdoba to study at the same college.
In statements from Catalina's father, he described the bond between his daughter and Soto as a friendship, mentioning that the young man had visited her house on several occasions. However, he expressed his desire for justice and his conviction that Soto should be sentenced to life in prison.
Catalina's body showed signs of asphyxiation due to strangulation and multiple injuries. In addition, signs of an intentional fire were found in the vehicle. The investigations ruled out the possibility of sexual abuse.
Soto is charged with simple homicide and is awaiting new investigations before the prosecutor's office, led by José Mana. Investigators found incriminating evidence in Soto's home, including the victim's ring and hair samples. In addition, it was discovered that Soto had washed the clothes he was wearing on the day of the crime.