The next hearing against Jhonier Leal, the main suspect in the murder of the stylist Mauricio Leal and his mother, Marleny Hernández, will be with the accused present in court, after the connection problems registered in La Picota prison, where he has been held since 2022.
The defendant had been presented from the prison via the internet, but the connectivity failures from said establishment forced the Prosecutor’s Office to request that Leal attend the next hearing in person on July 5, as scheduled by judge 55 of knowledge.
In this way, Leal’s wish to be present throughout the trial will also be fulfilled, since he has been suspended on other occasions due to connection problems and refused to waive his right to attend his entire process for double homicide.
The Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the presence of Leal
Prosecutor Mario Burgos, who is handling the case against Jhonier Leal, confirmed at the hearing held on Friday, June 23, that the defendant will appear at his trial on July 5 with the aim of not continuing to suspend the process due to failures in Internet connection.
“Your Honor, through your channel, Mr. Jhonier Rodolfo Leal Hernández is informed that the next session will be transferred in person to this courtroom, so that there is no kind of difficulty at the time of authorizing by him the transfer to it,” said the official.
Everything is due to the fact that on June 23 the hearing was suspended at the time Armando Rodríguez Lozano, forensic graphologist from the Institute of Legal Medicine, declared, because the internet connection with La Picota prison, where the defendant is, fell.
“We were taking the pertinent steps to achieve connectivity for Mr. Jhonier from La Picota prison. The lady director and a dragoon have stated that connectivity problems continue, but because of the signal inhibitors it is very difficult for cell phones to have a permanent signal,” said prosecutor Burgos.
johnier wants to be
Ana Julieth Velázquez, Jhonier Leal’s defense attorney, reported that her client wishes to attend each of the hearings against him and assured that the defendant wants to hear each of the details of the investigation that accuses him of the murder of Mauricio Leal and Marleny Hernandez.
“In fact, I had the opportunity to talk with Jhonier Leal and he reiterated that his interest was to be in all the proceedings, to hear first-hand, how much what was being discussed would affect his freedom, so he did not waive his right to to be at the hearing and that he wants to be at this and the following ones,” said the lawyer.
It should be remembered that Judge 55 of knowledge asked Jhonier Leal if he wanted to renounce his right to attend his trial, due to connection failures that prevent him from appearing remotely, but the person involved rejected that proposal.
“He never showed feeling”
The CTI investigator, Olga Lucía Rincón Suárez, spoke at the hearing about the first reaction that Jhonier Leal presented when the crime scene was inspected at his residence in La Calera, Cundinamarca, where the bodies of Mauricio Leal and Marleny Hernandez.
“At the time the inspection was taking place, Mr. Jhonier was sometimes seen in front of us, and he had a white jacket and always had his hands in his pockets. He never asked us anything about the bodies, he didn’t cry, he never showed any feelings,” he said.
Rincón added, “I have been in this work for 20 years, and I have seen the feelings of the people, of the relatives, but he never showed any alteration or anything that was abnormal. It was all very normal for him. He always saw what we were doing with our hands inside his jacket.” with Infobae