Ecuadorian authorities have found the body of a lawyer who went missing after she was last seen visiting a police training school, sparking public anger and calls to end violence against women.
34-year-old María Belén Bernal had gone to visit her husband at the school, where he was an instructor, on the outskirts of Ecuador’s capital, Quito, on Sep. 11.
There is no record of her leaving.
Her body was found on more than a week later on Wednesday Sep. 21 only five kilometers away from the facilities where she was last seen, according to the BBC.
Her husband, Germán Cáceres, has become the main suspect.
Witnesses said they heard screams on the night of Bernal’s disappearance and Cáceres had appeared to be dragging something.
Police officers questioned Cáceres, but did not detained him,
Cáceres then stopped showing up to work for three days and was dismissed.
Authorities have since started a manhunt for him.
Family, friends, and women’s rights groups have organized protests after Bernal’s death, who became another victim of gender violence.
Ecuadorian president Guillermo Lasso promised her murder will not go unpunished and the people responsible will be brought to justice.
More than 200 women have been killed in Ecuador in 2022.
