Luis Lorenzo charges the Civil Guard before the judge and calls the investigation "botched"

MADRID, 8 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The actor Luis Lorenzo has charged this Tuesday during his statement before the judge of Arganda del Rey against the Civil Guard and has called the investigation that incriminates him and his wife for the alleged murder of María Isabel Asunción "botched".

The actor and Arantxa Palomino are being investigated for being the alleged perpetrators of the death of the old woman, whose autopsy report determined the presence of levels of cadmium and manganese above normal.

The couple was arrested last May by the Civil Guard following a complaint by the victim's brother. The complainant ratified shortly after the accusation against the actor and his wife, whom he blames for the alleged murder of Isabel to seize his inheritance, arguing that when he was in Grado (Asturias) he had no pathology except deafness and cataracts.

For more than two hours, Luis Lorenzo has explained to the judge the circumstances in which the old woman died, who was diagnosed with dementia months before she died, and has complained about the investigation by the Civil Guard.

On July 14, the judge questioned the neurologist who first diagnosed the old woman with dementia and who confirmed that the old woman had the beginning of dementia. She, however, stated that she was surprised by the speed with which her pathology worsened.

Upon his departure and in statements to the media, he has been "satisfied" with the interrogation and has branded as "false" all the facts attributed to them by the Civil Guard, calling the investigation "botched".

The Civil Guard accuses the couple of allegedly poisoning their relative for "an economic motive" and they point to them for "constantly causing a history of mental illness and neglecting her physical and medical needs, causing her health to deteriorate to the point of death".

Finally, Luis Lorenzo has indicated that they have denounced a neighbor of his building who accused them of alleged mistreatment of the old woman and whose testimony is collected in the investigative proceedings.

After uncovering the case, several neighbors reported to the investigators alleged episodes of abuse towards Arantxa's aunt, stating that they were "constant" and that her niece maintained "a despotic attitude in coexistence."

Luis Lorenzo is waiting for an expert witness to explain in a report why high levels of the metal cadmium were detected in the autopsy according to the theory that a natural post-mortem redistribution occurred.

The judge has doubts about the poisoning due to the possibility that the old woman died naturally due to a redistribution of chemical substances, a hypothesis that is supported by several scientific studies.

To clarify this point, he questioned the director of the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences, Antonio Alonso, a few weeks ago.

When the case was uncovered, this organization published on its networks the conclusions of two scientific studies on corpses from the United States and China, with very high levels of cadmium in the blood due to a natural redistribution of cadmium as a result of their decomposition.

Antonio Alonso presented this theory to the judge, collected in an article in a 2010 scientific journal and something that was raised last June by a head of the Chemistry Service of the Madrid Department of the INTCF.

The request for a voluntary declaration was made after a report from the Department of the Environment of the Criminalistics Service of the Civil Guard concluded that there is no presence of cadmium in the samples seized in the actor's house.

According to the autopsy, María Isabel would have died of "acute intoxication by heavy metals". The amount of cadmium --present in paint-- would be 200 times higher than the normal limit, while the concentration of manganese --present in cells and batteries-- found in the body is twenty times higher than usual.

Recently, the defense of those investigated filed a brief before the judge to request the voluntary declaration of marriage and request the annulment of part of the proceedings for violation of fundamental rights.

In the brief, the couple's lawyer denounced the breach of procedural guarantees with violation of the right to defense, and under article 11 of the Organic Law of the Judiciary (LOPJ), requests that the nullity of the investigation actions contained in the extension proceedings 83/2022.

It would be the annulment of the extension proceedings carried out last June by the Civil Guard, which consisted of interrogations of relatives of those investigated, including the circle of Palomino with "certain enmity" towards the investigated.

Apparently, the statements would have been made behind the backs of the defense of Luis Lorenzo and Arantxa Palomino, which would have left them defenseless.