Woman involved in murder of Diego Schmidt-Hebbel cannot be questioned today

SANTIAGO.- Doctors belonging to the emergency medical service at Hospital del Salvador stated this morning that 52 year-old María del Pilar Pérez, the aunt of the girlfriend of murder victim Diego Schmidt-Hebbel, will not be questioned today due to her weak health condition. She has been arrested for allegedly hiring a hit man.

The chief of the Intensive Care Unit, Horacio Díaz, indicated that the woman could be discharged from the hospital on Monday or Tuesday of next week. Pérez is currently connected to a cardiovascular monitor and is not considered to be in life-threatening condition, although she remains in the ICU of the hospital and is being guarded by police.

The doctor stated that the woman had apparently tried to kill herself when the Homicide Brigade of the Bureau of Police Investigations arrived at her home to arrest her after 44 year-old José Ruz, who has confessed to the murder, claimed that she hired him to kill the father of María Belén Molina, the victim's girlfriend.

Díaz also indicated that due to the woman's semi-unconscious state, "she will not be able to be questioned today", and stated that the physicians have still not been able to establish at what time the woman ingested three different types of medication.