The woman that was burned alive in a town square died following five days of agony after abandoning her ex-boyfriend, according to Peru’s women’s minister.
In an interview with RPP radio station, Minister Nancy Tolentino slammed the police for their slow response, issuing only an arrest warrant for the suspect five days after the crime.
“She fought for her life but, unfortunately, the amount of damage she suffered made it impossible for doctors to save her life and they told us she has died,” she said.
Last week, Katherine Gomez, 18, was admitted to the hospital, suffering from burns to 60 percent of her body.
Police said the perpetrator, Sergio Tarache Parra, a 19-year-old Venezuelan, left the scene after dousing Gomez with petrol and setting her on fire in a central square in Lima.
Just days earlier, Gomez had decided to end their relationship.
The minister urged young women not to meet their violent exes alone because “it is risky,” and warned to neither accept “compromises nor relationships with a person who does not respect you, who violates your rights.”
In 2022, Peru, a country of 33 million, recorded 136 femicides, a similar number to the two previous years.
