Protests have sparked after the brutal rape and murder of a 7-year-old indigenous, Colombian girl who was found dead in an apartment earlier this month in one of the country’s affluent neighborhoods.
Yuliana Andrea Samboni was reportedly kidnapped December 4 while playing with her brothers in the poor neighborhood of Bosque Calderon Tejada. A man driving an SUV snatched the girl in a moment captured on surveillance video.
The suspect, Rafael Uribe, a 38-year-old architect, has been charged with aggravated femicide, kidnapping, torture and “violent sexual intercourse."
Authorities say Uribe allegedly took Yuliana to his family's luxurious apartment, where he sexually abused and tortured the girl before strangling her. Her body was found under a hot tub on the terrace of the apartment, according to reports.
Uribe and one other person tried to cover up the heinous crime, reports said. Uribe was later arrested in the hospital where his brother reportedly checked him in for a "drug overdose."
Since the murder, protests have been held across the country out of fear that Uribe, who is reportedly a known socialite, will use his influence to avoid accountability.