Instigator of Argentine soccer fan's murder turns himself in
Buenos Aires, Apr 17 (efe-epa).- The suspected instigator of the murder of an Argentine soccer fan, who died after being beaten and thrown down the side of the stadium at a match last Saturday, turned himself in to the law on Monday.
A screenshot of a video provided by TV channel El Doce shows the moment in which Emmanuel Balbo falls from the stands after a confrontation with other fans during the match played on 15 April 2017 between Atletico Belgrano and Talleres at the Mario Alberto Kempes stadium in Cordoba, Argentina. EFE/EL DOCE
Buenos Aires, Apr 17 (efe-epa).- The suspected instigator of the murder of an Argentine soccer fan, who died after being beaten and thrown down the side of the stadium at a match last Saturday, turned himself in to the law on Monday.
Police confirmed to EFE that Oscar Gomez, nicknamed "Sapito," turned up Monday afternoon at Cordoba province police headquarters and admitted having incited a number of fans to give Emanuel Balbo a thrashing.
Balbo died in hospital Monday after spending several days in critical condition.
As can be seen in the pictures aired on local television, Balbo, 22, was brutally beaten and thrown from the stands onto a stairway into Mario Alberto Kempes Stadium by fans of the local team, Belgrano, which was playing against its top rival, Talleres of Cordoba.
Raul Balbo, father of the victim, confirmed Monday the death of the young man and said that during the Cordoba classic, Emanuel by chance found himself in the stands next to Gomez, accused four years ago of running over and killing another boy of the Balbo family, who was 14 at the time.
"Instead of (Gomez) defending himself, he incited all his pals at the game to attack my son. They started hitting him and did what they did to him. Gomez called on all his friends and said, 'Throw him overboard, he's a Talleres fan!' They ran up and in the end they threw him over the side," Raul Balbo said in an interview on Channel 3.
For her part, the prosecutor in the case, Liliana Sanchez, confirmed that the father's account of what happened is under investigation and that four people have been taken into custody - one of them a minor - charged with aggravated homicide.
The four have now been joined by the suspected instigator of the fatal aggression.
