Lissette Ochoa's domestic violence case
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Lissette Ochoa's domestic violence case became the most renown case of spousal abuse in Colombia because of the couple's elite social status and for the brutality of the battering perpetrated on Lissette Ochoa by husband Rafael Dangond.
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[edit] Events
In July 29, 2006 Rafael Dangond and Lissette Ochoa attended a wedding party in the exclusive Country Club in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia. Dangond became aggressive after his wife Lissette was invited to dance by a group of friends who had traveled from Venezuela to attend the wedding, among them a young male who danced with her.[1] While Ochoa was dancing some of the attendants recount seeing Dangond sitting alone at the table. He later walked towards the bathroom and then came out with reddened eyes presumably caused by alcohol or drugs.[2] Apparently Dangond suffered a jealousy attack.[3]
Once she returned to her seat, Dangond immediately ordered his wife to exit the event and, once outside, Dangond began battering her and pushed her into their car where the beating continued at approximately 2:00 AM.[2] He drove the car erratically around the city while he constantly hit her for more than two hours until he drove home were the violence continued, it was by now 4:00 AM approximately. Ochoa desperately locked herself in a bathroom and used a cellphone to call her father Jorge Álvaro, Ochoa who told her he was on his way to her apartment, she also warned him that her husband was armed and was yelling threats about killing himself, her and her father. At this moment Dangond knocked the door down, fired his weapon and the bullet scratched his wife's armpit.[2]
When her father Jorge Álvaro arrived to their building, she had managed to exit the apartment and exit the building where she met with her father, who recounted looking at her as she had been a character from the film "The Exorcist". Her eyes were purple and swollen, her upper lip was basically touching her nose and came out crawling.[4] Her father immediately tried to report the incident to the police, but was told to return later in the morning when the person in charge of those cases arrived, negligence that he and others would later criticize in the media. He then took her to a clinic where she spent more than month interned after suffering multiple physical traumas mainly on her head. Doctor Humberto Caiaffa who cared for Ochoa said she had multiple fractures and had arrived to the clinic in a "lamentable" state.
[edit] National attention
The case gained notoriety thanks in part to Ochoa's aunt Astrid Amador who took pictures of her during the wedding and afterwards at the hospital. She e-mailed the pictures and was basically spread by word of mouth[4][5] until the most influential Colombian newsmedia reported the event and produced other numerous reports related to these type of cases were widely ignored in Colombia.[1][4] The investigation on the case was initiated and Ochoa also filed for divorce.
[edit] Husband jailed and released
In August 4, 2006 Dangond turned himself in to authorities after a brief absentia and jailed in El Bosque Prison for three months.[2] He was formally accused in November 17, 2006 by Ochoa's family members in a sectional attorney office in Barranquilla. He accused of being responsible for assault and battery, homicide intent and carrying an illegal weapon. The attorney later decided on the case and absented himself from a final resolution and revoked the preventive detention setting Dangond temporarily free.[6]
[edit] SoHo magazine article
Ochoa wrote an article called ¡Nunca más! (Never again!) in the Colombian SoHo magazine telling her side of the story. She called beasts men who are violent toward women and recalled her married life of 9 years by her husband and two children, where she also mentioned her husband had previously been violent in a lesser extent to her, signals that she ignored and escalated to a point that almost got her killed.[7]
[edit] Public apology and reunion
In December 1, 2006 Dangond recognized that he had psychological and drug addictions problems including issues on his personality, problems he was being treated by professionals who were also treating their two children. He also said that he continued to love his wife and publicly apologized for the events of that night, apologized to her and his family and the society in general. He publicly thanked her for giving him a second opportunity to be together as her husband.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ a b ElColombiano: Ante el maltrato el silencio es cómplice. ElColombiano.com.co Accessed 03 December 2006.
- ^ a b c d e EL TIEMPO: Rafael Dangond, esposo de Lizeth Ochoa, le pidió perdón públicamente a ella y a su familia. ELTIEMPO.com Accessed 03 December 2006.
- ^ CARACOL: A indagatoria el hombre que golpeó brutalmente a su esposa en Barranquilla. CARACOL.com.co Accessed 03 December 2006.
- ^ a b c ELPAIS: Golpiza de ganadero a su esposa en Barranquilla. ELPAIS.com.co Accessed 03 December 2006.
- ^ WIKINOTICIAS: Hombre de clase alta golpea brutalmente a su esposa en Colombia. es.wikinews.org Accessed 03 December 2006.
- ^ Fiscalia General de la Nacion: Acusado Dangond por causar lesiones personales dolosas a su esposa. fiscalia.gov.co Accessed 03 December 2006.
- ^ SoHo: ¡Nunca más! soho.com.co Accessed 03 December 2006.
