A crime with sexist motivations, a traffic accident or suicide? These are the three main hypotheses that have been raised about the death of Ana Buza, a young Philosophy student, 19 years old and from Carmona (Seville), who lost her life on September 7, 2019, when she was traveling by car with her boyfriend Rafael V. P. on the A-4 Highway towards Seville.
Her boyfriend sits in the dock in a jury trial that is being held in the Seville Court and that tries to clarify the circumstances under which the girl's death occurred. There are testimonies, versions and expert reports that can fit into the three hypotheses, which led the prosecutor in the case to point out that it is a "very complicated" trial, which is why she requested a postponement that was authorized by the magistrate presiding over the oral hearing. For this reason, the trial, instead of ending this Wednesday, as initially planned, will end this Friday, when the Prosecutor's Office, the prosecution and the defense present their final reports and conclusions.
Rafael V. P., Ana Buza's boyfriend, faces a prosecutor's request for three years in prison for an alleged crime of reckless homicide, while the young woman's family demands 20 years in prison for an alleged crime of murder or intentional manslaughter on a subsidiary basis. During his statement, the young man always denied that he killed his girlfriend, that he ran her over with the car or that he pushed her out of the vehicle. As he explained, the young woman was sitting in the back seats because she was angry with him, after having previously argued. «She didn't speak anything the entire journey. I noticed a puff of air and, when I turned, I saw her falling," he told the prosecutor.
"I feel guilty for not having taken it," said the accused, who was driving the car at between 100 and 110 kilometers per hour, according to his version. At that speed, Ana's death would have occurred as a result of the blows suffered in the fall, although the parents maintain that the young woman would have abandoned the vehicle after being stopped on the road during an argument and, later, she was run over by her boyfriend as the "culmination" of the "toxic" relationship that they both had.
The Civil Guadia report
On the other hand, the Traffic Accident Reconstruction Team of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard maintains that what happened on the night of September 7, 2019 "is not compatible with the fatal accident" that the parents are trying to prove. In fact, initially, the investigations into Ana's death were framed as a possible traffic accident or suicide, although the family's persistence allowed the case to be reopened to prosecute the young woman's boyfriend.
The accused said at the trial that his relationship with Ana was "normal or good", but "bad, no" and that he was not jealous, although he did feel "mistrust", after she had been unfaithful to him and there were dates that did not "fit" him. Precisely because of this infidelity and because "Ana felt guilty" they went to couples therapy, according to the accused's version.
However, the psychologist who saw the two completely dismantled the accused's story. To begin with, this witness maintained that Ana "absolutely" had a suicidal profile and that she went to therapy with her partner because she was "very in love" and was "afraid" of getting married, having children and that her partner would "lock her up."
couples therapy
"Ana trusts me and tells me that he needs treatment," explained the psychologist. Just four days before her death, Ana confessed that she was "fed up" with her boyfriend because she was disciplined and organized, but he made her keep schedules that were "chaotic" for her. Also because of the issue of money because she paid for everything with her parents' money, which caused conflicts at home.
