'Jealous' man allegedly murders ex, leaves husband for dead
A jilted boyfriend is standing trial for murdering his ex-partner and stabbing her new husband who he left for dead just five days after they were married.
Sandra Milena Alegria, 36, opened her front door to Rodolfo Andres Perez, her former partner and the father of their eight-year-old son, in October last year, then the woman was attacked and killed.
When her new husband Hernan Ortiz arrived at the couple’s home in the central Colombian capital Bogota and allegedly saw the suspect, he asked him what he was doing there. Perez said he came to talk to his ex about their child.
“He attacked me from behind and stabbed me eight times,” Mr Ortiz said.
“I faked being dead and stayed still while he put some things into a bag and cleaned the house. I lost blood for over 12 minutes, but as soon as I heard him leave the house I went out and started to ring the neighbours’ bells.”
Mr Ortiz spent over a month in hospital and luckily survived the alleged knife attack.
Meanwhile, the suspect was arrested 10 days later and is being held in custody as the trial is underway.
According to Mr Ortiz, his wife was killed in a jealous rage because she was taking her ex to court for unpaid child maintenance.
Mr Ortiz is reportedly afraid the suspect may be released due to delays in the judicial process and pleaded with the judge to speed up the process and not allow the suspect to walk free.
He told local media the initial hearing did not take place because the public prosecutor revealed she did not know enough about the case. The case was then postponed until early February, but the prosecutor failed to show up.
According to Mr Ortiz, the hearing is now set for March and any further delays could result in a mistrial.
The couple, who had been in a relationship for three years but married for just five days, were preparing to go on their honeymoon prior to the attack.
If you or someone you know is suffering from sexual or domestic abuse, don’t suffer in silence, call the National sexual assault helpline 1800 RESPECT: 1800 737 732 any time of day or night.
-Australscope
