Pilar Pérez to be arraigned next week on charges of beating her daughter-in-law

SANTIAGO.- María del Pilar Pérez, who is accused of masterminding a crime that ended in the murder of young economist Diego Schmidt-Hebbel, will be arraigned next week on charges of beating her daughter in law last year because she disapproved of the woman's relationship with her son.

The information was disclosed by sources close to the case, who also told Emol that Prosecutors Carlos Gajardo and Vinko Fodich are evaluating whether to charge the woman, who has been nicknamed "La Quintrala", with the crime of inflicting serious injury or attempted murder.

The charges will be defined after receiving an official statement from the wife of Doctor Juan José Zamorano Pérez, who reported the incident to investigators while issuing a statement against his mother.

"When I told my mother that I wanted to marry Montserrat, she objected, she said that I was too young to get married. This is what lead to the incident that day. As my fiancée was leaving the home she was pushed from the second floor, falling first down the staircase. She ended up beaten-up and dazed. My fiancée, without knowing what had happened and thinking that my mother had slipped and taken her with her, tried to stand up when my mother began kicking and punching her in different parts of her body and beating her head with a blunt object while the dogs bit her. She finally managed to escape", stated Zamorano.

A session to question the victim about the incident is currently being arranged by both prosecutors.