judicial

Widow verifies allegations

Jean Black gave a sworn statement concerning the 1970 shooting of husband Corporal Andrés García.

Delgado’s defense considers her a “reference witness” and claims her testimony is secondhand.

la prensa

gaining courage:After 38 years of living in fear of reprisals, Jean Black decided to appear personally before public prosecutors to corroborate the story published by La Prensa last month, in which she accused Delgado Diamante of killing her husband at their Casco Viejo home in 1970.1119870

Jean Black, the widow of National Guard Corporal Andrés García, met with public prosecutors yesterday to verify the allegations she made in an article published in La Prensa, identifying suspended Government and Justice Minister Daniel Delgado Diamante as the person who shot and killed her husband in February 1970.

According to her lawyer, Horacio Ransey, Black explained in her statement that she could hear the exchange between her husband and then Lieutenant Delgado Diamante from outside the García’s Casco Viejo home where she hid for fear of a violent confrontation. According to Black, as she was crouched behind some boxes praying, she overheard her husband plead for Delgado Diamante not to shoot before three gunshots rang out.

The lawyer added that his client also stated that after the incident, she was never called by authorities to participate in a criminal investigation or court hearing.

Relatives of García announced that this week that they plan to return to the Public Ministry, this time to file a criminal complaint against Delgado Diamante for the alleged murder.

In an attempt to discount her testimony, defense counsel for the minister has described Jean Black as a “reference witness,” and claimed that she has given accounts of an event that she learned of from second-hand reports and didn’t witness personally.

Attorney General Ana Matilde Gómez reiterated recently that she will not rule out ordering a sworn statement from 1970s era public prosecutor Olmedo Miranda.

Horacio Ransey, Black’s lawyer, said that there is more than sufficient evidence and testimonies exist, inlcuding the minister’s own statement, to prove that Delgado Diamante was the principal agent in García’s death.

“At the moment, we’re only accusing Delgado Diamante, but if the research shows that others were involved, we’ll also file legal complaints against all those found responsible," he added.

Ransey commented that his client appeared at the Public Ministry yesterday to cooperate with the investigations and intends to ensure that the 38-year-old crime doesn’t go unpunished.