Rafael Valerio, cousin of José Vladímir Valerio Estévez, speaking to the press outside the Santiago prosecutor’s office. External Source

Santiago— Relatives of the hairdresser killed in a confusing incident on Santiago’s Avenida Olímpica have submitted information to the Prosecutor’s Office that, they claim, implicates several National Police officers in the incident.

José Vladímir Valerio Estévez (The Barber) lost his life along with five other people, including one of his clients.

Rafael Valerio, cousin of José Vladímir Valerio Estévez and legal representative of the family of the owner of the barbershop where the incident occurred, visited the Santiago Prosecutor’s Office, where prosecutor Geraldo Ponce received him. There, he expressed the need for the case to be clarified and for the young barber’s good name to be restored.

The victim’s lawyer and relative asserted that both the family and those close to him have information that contradicts the official version.

“You know I can’t give much information so as not to hinder the investigation, but there are people who… the police themselves have already said they have identified them, that they are going to make it public,” said Rafael Valerio, who asserted that the police “put seven feet in one shoe” and that, three days later, the head of the institution offered statements that do not coincide with the information held by the Public Ministry.

Rafael stated that the family’s priority is to “clear the name of Vladimir Valerio Estevez and his family”. He requested the intervention of higher authorities, including the Chief of Police, Minister Faride Raful, and the Attorney General of the Republic, Yeni Berenice Reynoso, who, he said, have shown interest and have contacted the family regarding a possible meeting.

“Everyone here knows that from the beginning, we know who the police officers are, their names, how they acted, why they acted,” he said.

The relative questioned the actions of the police intelligence services: “Why didn’t they arrest him with intelligence in a place where there weren’t people who could get hurt? Because it’s an intelligence service.”

Rafael also reported alleged irregular practices during the intervention:

“That’s why they even took the barber shop sign… because they’re used to peddling drugs, and the prosecutor’s office is helping them too. Remember the cases they’ve dealt with before.”

He stated that the family has received information from various sources that will soon be made public.

The victim’s cousin described José Vladímir as a young man who had been involved in music and hairdressing since his adolescence.

“His only vices were music and hairdressing… the firearms he used are the same ones they took: clippers and scissors. Those are the weapons he actually used,” he said, clearly alluding to the deceased’s professional instruments, which he claimed remain in the barbershop.

Rafael also referred to another victim of the incident, a young man who tried to flee after being shot. According to the relative, there are testimonies and calls from relatives indicating that this young man “apparently had no connection” to what authorities claim, and that he was executed to avoid “loose cannons.”

The family announced that it has a legal team and technical support, including advisors abroad, to recover and analyze videos that, according to Rafael, were deleted or edited.

Meanwhile, a police source said that several officers involved in the altercation that left five people dead are being questioned on the orders of their superiors.

Attorney

The Attorney General of the Republic, Yeni Berenice Reynoso, instructed the Director General of Prosecution of the Public Ministry and the Prosecutor of Santiago to directly lead the investigations into the circumstances in which five men were killed by agents of the National Police last Wednesday afternoon, in a shopping mall in La Barranquita.

Reynoso sent a communication to Deputy Attorney General Wilson Camacho, head of the Prosecution Service, and to the acting Santiago prosecutor, Quirsa Abreu, requesting that they conduct the corresponding investigations to “determine the objective circumstances in which the case in question occurred and proceed according to the outcome.”

The Police identified the deceased as Edward Bernardo Peña Rodríguez, Carlos Enrique Guzmán Navarro (Charly or Charli Chasc), José Vladímir Valerio Estévez, Elvis Antonio Martínez Rodríguez, and Julio Alberto Gómez, who died while receiving medical attention at the José María Cabral y Báez Hospital in Santiago.