Hugo Bustamante case heads to Supreme Court after double homicide acquittal

The Chilean Supreme Court will review a decision by the Valparaíso Court of Appeals to dismiss charges against Hugo Bustamante for the 1996 double homicide of Elena Hinojosa and Eduardo Páez.

While a lower court in Villa Alemana had previously sentenced Bustamante to ten years and one day in prison, the appeals court revoked the conviction. The court reclassified the crimes from aggravated homicide to simple homicide, which carries a ten-year statute of limitations. Because the crimes occurred in 1996, the court ruled that the legal action had expired, resulting in a definitive dismissal of the case.

The victims' remains were discovered in June 2024 at a property linked to Bustamante, the same location where the body of Ámbar Cornejo was found in 2020. The double murder remained unknown for nearly three decades until Bustamante's own admissions during a media interview prompted investigations.

Legal representatives for the victims' families have filed a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court, seeking to annul the dismissal. The plaintiffs argue that the court must consider Bustamante’s subsequent criminal convictions when determining if the statute of limitations was interrupted.