A turning point in Mexico on the case of the murder of the Italian businessman Raphael Alessandro Tunesi, assassinated in Palenque, in the state of Chiapas, on July 1st. Authorities arrested the businessman’s Mexican wife, Elisabeth Gomes, as the instigator of the murder, and two men named as material perpetrators of the ambush. The arrest of the three alleged perpetrators was announced by the State Prosecutor General of Chiapas, who in a statement reported that the police carried out on Thursday “an arrest warrant issued by the judge against two men and a woman as probable perpetrators of the murder ”of Tunesi.
According to the prosecutor, the investigative and intelligence work made it possible to clarify the facts and therefore order the arrest of Elisabeth ‘N’, wife of the entrepreneur of Italian origin, as principal, and Gerardo Antonio ‘N’ and Luis Martín ‘ N ‘as material authors “. The arrests were made in the cities of Tuxtla Gutiérrez and Palenque, in Chiapas. Those arrested were presented before a judge in the city of Catazajá, who must define their legal situation in the coming days.
Tunesi, a hotel entrepreneur and above all an important scholar of Mayan culture, died in a full-blown ambush on a deserted road, shot dead by a barrage of bullets fired by ruthless hitmen on motorcycles. He was killed while, on board his BMW, he was heading towards the school ‘La Escriba’, from where two of his three daughters were about to leave, all born to his wife who is now accused of having masterminded his murder, who has had media coverage in Mexico and beyond.
Born in Munich and raised in Milan, it was the interest in pre-Columbian culture during his university studies that led Tunesi to move to Mexico. There he met his wife about 20 years ago, when he and his parents received support for the construction of a holiday home in Palenque. It was during the work on the house that he met Elizabeth, who encouraged him to transform the project into a five-star hotel. Today the Quinta Chanabnal Boutique Hotel, complemented by eight Mayan-style suites, is considered the most beautiful and luxurious in Palenque. Thanks to his acquaintance with him, he was highly esteemed by the Italian-Mexican community and had participated in many initiatives organized by the Italian embassy in Mexico City.