A 14-year-old girl in Chile has been placed in provisional detention after allegedly killing her 48-year-old mother during an argument at their home in Santiago before returning to school the following morning.
The incident happened on Sunday, August 23, inside a 13th-floor apartment in the San JoaquÃn district of southern Santiago. According to preliminary information presented by investigators, the teenager and her mother, identified by authorities as G.M.M.M., became involved in an argument at around 12.15pm.
The girl later told police that during the confrontation she picked up a hammer that had been beside a sofa and struck her mother several times. She subsequently changed her clothes and left the apartment at approximately 2.15pm.
Police said the teenager returned to the property at around 11pm and found her mother still lying on the floor. She then covered the body with a sheet and remained inside the apartment overnight.
The following morning, the teenager left the home and went to school, apparently continuing with her normal routine. After leaving school later that day, she went voluntarily to the 3rd Santiago Police Station and told officers that she had killed her mother.
Her confession prompted police to attend the apartment later that evening. Officers entered the property and confirmed that the woman was dead.
The case was subsequently handed to Chile’s Investigative Police, known as the PDI, with detectives from its Southern Homicide Squad and forensic specialists beginning an examination of the scene. Investigators reported that the woman had injuries consistent with an assault involving a blunt object, supporting key elements of the teenager’s initial account.
At a court hearing on Tuesday, August 25, prosecutors formally accused the teenager of consummated parricide, a serious offence involving the killing of a close family member. The court ordered her to remain in provisional detention at a secure juvenile facility while investigators continue examining the circumstances surrounding the death. A 100-day investigation period was reportedly granted.
Prosecutor Ariel Cancino said the prosecution’s case at this early stage was that the teenager had caused her mother’s death on Sunday, later went out with her father, attended school the next day and then went to a police station to report what had happened.
Questions remain over what led to the confrontation and whether there were wider family circumstances that may have contributed to the incident. The teenager’s defence has raised allegations of previous domestic violence within the family, while prosecutors have said their enquiries so far have not identified previous complaints involving the mother.
The PDI is continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death, including the sequence of events inside the apartment and whether there were any other relevant factors or people connected to the case.
Because the accused is 14, the proceedings are being handled through Chile’s juvenile justice system. She remains in provisional detention while prosecutors and investigators work to establish the full circumstances of the case.
