The body of a dead man estimated to be aged between 35 and 40 has been discovered floating in a lake in the Buenos Aires City neighbourhood of Palermo, local police have confirmed.
Firefighters and officers from the Buenos Aires City Police Force made the gruesome discovery on Monday after a local neighbour spotted the body and alerted the authorities.
Police sources say the corpse was found half-a-metre from the shoreline of the Victoria Ocampo Lake in the Palermo woods and that there were no obvious signs of an injury to the body that could have caused the individual’s death.
The lake is close to Plaza Sicilia, located at the corner of Sarmiento and Berro, just metres away from where engineer Mariano Barbieri was stabbed and fatally wounded in a mugging that took place last month, on August 30.
Investigators believe the corpse belongs to a male of between 35 and 40 years of age and that he died on Sunday night but was not discovered until Monday close to noon.
The victim was found wearing burgundy shorts, a black T-shirt, a fleece jacket, socks and trainers, as well as a light blue mask, police sources said. He had no identification on him, other than a Sube public transport card, which may or may not belong to the deceased.
“He has been dead between eight and 12 hours, with no visible lesions and no documents,” sources close to the case said on Monday evening.
Given his clothing, City Police believe that he may be homeless. No belongings were found in the vicinity, other than a disused cigarette.
For the time being, the first records of the case define the incident as “determination of death due to dubious causes.”
Initial autopsy reports accessed by the Noticias Argentinas news agency have ruled out drowning, given the lack of water or lake material in his lungs.
The victim was wearing a sweatshirt, trousers, jacket and trainers. He did not carry any documents attesting to his identity, but he did have a SUBE card which will be analysed to determine whether it is in somebody’s name, which does not necessarily means it belongs to him.
Criminal and Correctional Prosecution’s Office 53 is dealing with the case, headed by Matías Di Lello, who ordered a mobile crime unit head to the site.
– TIMES/NA
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