Body of missing 25-year-old woman found dead in Paraná

The body of a 25-year-old woman from Entre Ríos Province, who had been missing for more than a week, has been found at the bottom of a well, with police believing it is yet another in a spate of femicides in recent weeks.

The body of Fátima Acevedo was found on Sunday in a well in the town of Paraná, the provincial capital, at around 18 metres depth, officials said.

At a press conference, Cecilia Goyeneche, assistant attorney for Entre Ríos, confirmed that the body was discovered at 10.45am Sunday by a group of Paraná firefighters working with sniffer-dogs. GPS geo-location data had helped hone in her location, and the body was discovered wearing clothes and a backpack, which included documentation related to her son inside,

The alleged homicide comes amid 68 confirmed femicides so far this year.

Acevedo had previously reported her partner, 35-year-old Jorge Nicolás Martínez, to the authorities on multiple occasions dating back to 2017 for physical, psychological, and sexual violence.

According to the allegations made in Family Court No. 1 of Paraná, Martínez beat her when she refused to have sex with him and thereafter harassed her on repeated locations.

After a violent episode on January 31 this year, in which Martinez allegedly tried to throw hydrochloric acid on her, the attacker was issued with a restraining order by the court, and the young woman took refuge in a women's shelter on February 6.

On February 11, Fátima reported that her ex-partner was hovering around areas near that shelter, despite being prohibited to do so by the courts. She also reported that she and her son still had possessions in the home where Martínez still lived.

After an argument on February 29, in which the neighbours heard screams, the young woman left the shelter on March 1 and was not heard from again, according to local reports.

On March 3, the police raided Martínez’s home and obtained several pieces of evidence pertaining to her person, according to police reports.