Court of Appeals annuls trial that acquitted "paintbrush psychopath"

SANTIAGO.- The Second Court of Appeals has annulled the oral trial against art teacher Antonio Carvajal, who was acquitted on charges of raping and murdering university student María Isabel Pérez Aravena, who was buried alive in the backyard of her home.  Carvajal was also charged with causing lesser injuries to Carlos Ramos Espinoza and has been dubbed "the paintbrush psychopath".

The high court unanimously ruled that the evidence presented by the Public Prosecutor's Office was not adequately prepared and ordered that a new trial be set against Carvajal.

The defendant had been acquitted by Judges Karina Ormeño, Gloria Chacón and Olga Ortega due to vital doubts that remained about the events.

At the time, the court ruled that it could be proved that Pérez had been raped and murdered on September 14th of 2007 and that Ramos had suffered injuries, but that Carvajal could not be proved to be the attacker.

Nevertheless, Prosecutor Rodrigo Lazo presented an annulment appeal on the grounds that the ruling was invalid based on errors and inconsistencies in the presentation of evidence during the trial.