A 34-year-old man was stabbed to death early Sunday at the intersection of Colombia and Las Torres streets in Recoleta, in the Metropolitan Region. The Investigative Police (PDI) arrested a 40-year-old Chilean man at the scene, who admitted inflicting the wound.
According to BioBioChile, the suspect claimed self-defense. This legal provision allows a person who repels an unlawful attack using reasonable means to be exempted from criminal liability. Police will have to confirm or rule out that account.
The victim was homeless. According to the initial investigation cited by BioBioChile, the man allegedly tried to rob the arrested man with a knife. The arrested man allegedly took the weapon from him and stabbed him. Meganoticias reported another part of the account: the arrested man said the two had exchanged blows at that location.
At the direction of the Public Prosecutor's Office, detectives from the North Central Homicide Brigade and experts from the PDI's Forensic Laboratory (Labocar) worked at the scene. The preliminary examination identified a stab wound to the chest, consistent with the attack under investigation.
Commissioner Sergio Mendoza, of the North Central Homicide Brigade, explained that the arrested man "stated that he had inflicted the injury". He added that they were conducting inquiries to "establish conclusively how the events unfolded". According to T13, the commissioner said the motives were still under investigation and refrained from drawing conclusions about self-defense.
According to BioBioChile, the arrested man stayed at the scene and cooperated from the outset. Both men lived near the site of the attack. Both had previous arrests, but neither had outstanding warrants. The sources did not specify the offenses involved.
The case is at the arrest stage. The sources do not report the date of the hearing to review the legality of the arrest, the court handling the case or the case number (RUC, unique case identifier). Nor do they indicate whether prosecutors will request pretrial detention.
Detectives are taking witness statements, reviewing security camera footage and searching for the weapon used. They will submit their findings to the Public Prosecutor's Office, which must decide whether to formally charge the arrested man, meaning formally inform him before a judge that he is being investigated for homicide.
