Robledo Puch

Robledo Puch was born on 19 January 1952 to Víctor Robledo Puch, a former technician for General Motors, and Josefa Aída Habendak, a housewife who had emigrated from Germany shortly after World War II.[2] His family is descendants of Dionisio Puch, a soldier who was governor of the Salta Province, and Martín Miguel de Güemes, a military leader who defended the nation during the War of Independence.[3] Robledo Puch is of maternal German descent.[4] In 1956, when Robledo Puch was four years old, his parents moved the family to Borges Street, Olivos, Buenos Aires Province, where they rented a first-floor apartment above a hardware store. Coming from a hard-working, middle-class family, Puch was known to be shy and quiet like his mother, who took great care of him. Robledo Puch is a football supporter of River Plate.[5] Puch studied piano and learned German during his childhood.[2] He had troubled school years, where he usually stole items from his classmates. In 1967, Puch was caught stealing money from the secretary's office and was expelled from school.[2] Puch, who was victim of bullying at school,[6] had a difficult relationship with his father. After his arrest for the serial killings, Puch's grandmother died suddenly and his mother attempted suicide. His father allegedly blamed Puch for these incidents, which Puch never forgave.[6] Shortly after his capture, Puch threatened his father via letter, telling him that he would kill him the day he would be freed.[6] His father eventually divorced Puch's mother and was expelled from his job due to ostracization for his son's actions.[6]

In December 1968, Puch had the first legal encounter, when he entered the workshop of a man who worked with bicycles and robbed a motorcycle. After being arrested for this robbery, Puch confessed to more than 14 thefts. He was sent to a reformatory, where he spent twenty days under the order of a judge of minors.[7] Towards the end of 1969 or early 1970, Puch knew his accomplice in many robberies and murders, Jorge Antonio Ibáñez.[7] In early 1971, Puch and Ibáñez committed at least four robberies, stealing millions of pesos and spending them on luxurious items for themselves. They were arrested in January 1971 for one of these crimes and were charged with felonies.[7] Puch was released shortly afterwards but was ordered to present himself for a court appearance. Puch and Ibáñez, who had also been released on bail, escaped to Mar del Plata on train.[7]

Puch's first documented murder occurred on 3 May 1971, when Puch and Ibáñez entered an auto repair shop in Vicente López around midnight,[8] in northern Greater Buenos Aires. Puch shot and killed the shop's owner and seriously injured his wife, who was then sexually assaulted by Ibáñez. The man's wife survived along with her 10-month-old baby daughter.[2][9] Before fleeing with AR$400,000 in cash, Puch shot towards the baby's cradle, failing in his attempt to shoot her.[8] Puch and Ibáñez would kill again only days later, on 14 May 1971, when they broke into a nightclub in Olivos. There, Puch and Ibáñez robbed more than two million pesos in cash from the storage room. Before fleeing, Puch saw an opened door to a small room. When he peered inside, he saw two men sleeping (the watchmen). Puch immediately opened fire, killing them both.[10] Ten days later, on 24 May 1971, Puch and Ibáñez entered a supermarket in Vicente López. Once inside, Puch shot and killed the 61-year-old watchman. He then stole more than five million pesos and drank a whole bottle of whiskey with Ibáñez on the crime scene as a celebration for their success.[10]

On 13 June 1971, Puch and Ibáñez kidnapped a 16-year-old girl from a Buenos Aires highway. The girl, who had been involved in street prostitution, was forced into Puch's car at gunpoint. After driving away to a secluded area, Ibáñez sexually assaulted the girl and then ordered her out of the car. Puch told the girl to walk without looking backwards and shot her five times, killing her. It is unclear whether Puch also indulged in the sexual assault.[2][8] Puch murdered another female on 24 June 1971, when, along with Ibáñez, they kidnapped a 22-year-old woman who had just left her boyfriend's house near the site where the 16-year-old girl had been murdered. Puch and Ibáñez drove the woman to another secluded area, where Ibáñez attempted to rape her. It is also unclear whether Puch took part in this sexual assault. Ibáñez then ordered the woman to exit the car and Puch followed her, shooting her multiple times in the back, killing her.[8][9]

On 5 August 1971, Puch's accomplice Ibáñez, died in a confusing car accident while Puch was driving the car. Later rumors alleged that Puch could have killed Ibáñez and staged the accident as an alibi for Ibáñez's murder.[10] As a result, Puch looked for another accomplice, acquainting Héctor Somoza. They both committed their first crime together on 15 November 1971, when they entered a supermarket in the northern area of Greater Buenos Aires. Puch and Somoza did not take anything from the place, as Puch was surprised by the 50-year-old watchman, whom he killed by shooting him multiple times. They fled without committing any robbery.[8][9][10] Two days later, on 17 November 1971, Puch and Somoza broke into an auto agency and stole AR$90,000 in cash. Before fleeing, Puch shot and killed the sleeping watchman, who had raised his concerns in regards to the deaths of other watchmen in the area, at the time that police had begun to suspect of serial murders.[8][2] Puch's last murder in 1971 occurred on 25 November of that year, when, along with Somoza, he broke into a Dodge agency. Puch and Somoza stole a huge amount of one million and a half pesos. Before escaping, Puch took the watchman to the second floor of the agency. Puch shot three consecutive gunshots, killing the man.[8][9][10]

Puch committed his last murder on 3 February 1972, when, along with Somoza, they broke into a hardware store in Tigre, Buenos Aires. Once inside the store, Puch encountered the watchman, and, at gunpoint, he first locked the man up inside a small room. Minutes later, Puch returned, opened the door and killed the man with two gunshots. After killing the watchman, Puch and Somoza tried to open the safe vault. In a confusing incident, Somoza took Puch by the back, which Puch interpreted as an attempt to kill him. Puch then took his handgun and shot Somoza, killing him.[2][10] Puch tried to cover up the identity of Somoza, in an attempt to avoid identification, and proceeded to burn his face and hands with a blowtorch. Puch then escaped with some cash, forgetting that Somoza had his identification card in his pockets, which would lead to his arrest.[10][8][9][2]

Puch was eventually arrested on 4 February 1972, after his identity card was found in Somoza's pants pocket. He had just turned 20.[11]

Puch's trial began more than eight years after his arrest, on 4 August 1980, where Puch faced 36 charges, including eleven counts of aggravated murder.[12] Puch blamed his first accomplice Ibáñez for many of the crimes and stood defiant in court, where he referred to the whole process as a "farce."[12] The trial extended for four months, where 92 witnesses accused Puch of committing the crimes. Prior and during the process, a forensic psychiatrist named Osvaldo Raffo, determined that Puch was a psychopath and that represented a threat to society.[2] Puch, who met with Raffo over 25 times during the evaluations, later accused Raffo of lying and gaining fame at his expense.[2]

On 27 November 1980, the trial concluded with a unanimous verdict from the three presiding judges. Robledo Puch was sentenced to life imprisonment with the accessory of "indeterminate reclusion"; the maximum possible sentence under Argentine law.[13][2][14] After the verdict was read, Puch delivered his last words to the court saying: "This was a Roman circus. I was judged and sentenced beforehand."[15]

Robledo Puch later denied his involvement in the murders he was accused of, not denying he had stolen and saying he was tortured and coerced into a confession. The only survivor (eyewitness) who did not testify in court did not appear in court for health reasons. The woman said that the man who had raped and shot her had long hair (Ibáñez). Robledo Puch had short curly hair.[16]

Robledo Puch in prison, 1973

In July 2000, Puch became eligible for parole; he did not submit a petition.[17]

On 7 July 1973, Puch briefly escaped from prison, only to be recaptured three days later in downtown Buenos Aires. His mother, who appeared on the media, defending her son and denying that he had committed the murders, was confronted by an angry reporter who asked her if she believed in her son's innocence. Puch's mother responded that she knew that her son "had sone some things [...] but not all of them."[18]

In 2003, Puch was briefly transferred to a psychiatric hospital, where he was evaluated after he dressed as Batman and set fire to the workshop of the prison where he was serving his sentence in Olavarría. After being found competent, he was returned to prison.[19] In 2007 he was transferred to another prison in Azul, Buenos Aires.[19]

On 27 May 2008, Puch submitted a petition of request to be paroled. The judge who reviewed his petition denied him parole considering him to still be a threat to society.[20]

In November 2013, he requested a review of his sentence or, failing that, his execution by lethal injection, even though the death penalty was not legal in Argentina. The Supreme Court of Justice denied both the request for review and the request for execution, the latter of which would have been illegal.[21]

On 27 March 2015, the Supreme Court of Justice rejected an appeal filed by Robledo Puch against the aforementioned judicial decision whereby he was denied parole.[22]

In May 2019, Puch was rushed to a hospital from prison after he showed signs of intoxication related to side effects of a medication aimed at treating depression.[19]

In March 2023, during an interview with América 24, Puch denied his crimes and blamed others for them. Puch said that he was "constantly suffering" in prison and that he wished to be "euthanized."[23] Puch has a history of demanding that he be executed (even though the death penalty is not a legal punishment in Argentina), including in 2013, when he asked to be executed via lethal injection if his parole application was denied.[24]

In June 2023, judge Oscar Roberto Quintana of the Court of Guarantees and Appeals, turned down his parole request once again, citing that Puch suffers from "inconsistent emotions [...] which could be expressed in an erratic way," adding that Puch also has "paranoid reflections."[25]

As of 2023, Robledo Puch has spent over 50 years in prison, making him the longest-serving prisoner in South America.[18]

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• List of serial killers by number of victims
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• Mateo Banks