Fresh on the heels of the newest Unsolved Mysteries, Netflix’s latest true crime docuseries narrows in on one of Argentina’s most controversial — and mysterious — cases ever: the murder of María Marta García Belsunce in 2002.
Carmel: Who Killed Maria Marta? focuses on the the murder of the 50-year-old sociologist and the police attempt to unravel the mysteries surrounding her death. García Belsunce’s death was initially declared an accident — but once her body was exhumed, an autopsy revealed foul play was at hand.
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Here’s what you need to know about María Marta García Belsunce and the controversial murder case ahead of the Netflix docuseries.
Who was María Marta García Belsunce?
García Belsunce was a sociologist and charity worker who lived in Carmel, a gated community in Pilar, Buenos Aires with her husband, Carlos Carrascosa, a stockbroker. The couple married when she was 19 and didn’t have any children together.
What happened to María Marta?
On October 27, 2007, Carrascosa reportedly found García Belsunce dead in the bath upon returning home from a football game. Both police and Carrascosa said her death was a freak accident, theorizing she hit her head on the tap and fell in.
García Belsunce’s family signed a premade death certificate, believing it wasn’t foul play, but her stepbrother felt otherwise and asked for an investigation.
After her body was exhumed, an autopsy revealed she had been shot in the head five times and then dumped in the bath. A bullet fragment was also found in the plumbing, having been flushed down the toilet.
Who was the suspect in the María Marta murder?
After García Belsunce’s death, according to The Latch, the main suspects all gathered at her home, like a scene from Knives Out — Carrascosa, her brother, brother-in-law, doctor, and masseuse were all present to decide what to do after her murder.
The main suspect for police, however, was her husband, Carrascosa. After glue was discovered in her head wounds, investigators believed the family helped cover up his crime.
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A theory at the time was that her family was involved with a Mexican cartel in a drug trafficking ring, leading to a potential coverup. Diego Molina Pico, a prosecutor, subpoenaed the men in her family who were present after her death, leading to media speculation. He eventually received a note from her computer relating to the cartel.
Carrascosa had been laundering money for the Mexican cartel, according to reports, and it was believed she either refused to be involved or discovered what he was up to. Fear of the cartel “imposed silence upon those tied to this crime,” according to Molina Pico.
What happened to María Marta's husband?
In 2004, the men who were present at García Belsunce’s home the day of her murder were all charged with trying to cover up her death. Her husband, Carrascosa, was charged with murder along with two unnamed men as accomplices. Carrascosa’s attorney called Molina Pico a “spinner of fables.”
Carrascosa eventually went to trial for the murder and was acquitted in 2007. Two years later, an appeals court found him guilty. He then spent five years in jail before DNA analysis discovered he wasn’t a match for any of the blood samples at the crime scene, leading to another acquittal in 2016. He also had an alibi for the time of her murder.
Where does the María Marta case stand now?
Nicolás Pachelo, a neighbor, is considered a possible suspect. Back in 2002, when she was murdered, Pachelo had a record of robberies and fraud — it’s believed he likely would have committed the murder for theft. Like Carrascosa, he has an alibi for the time of her murder, but three witnesses happened to notice him jogging nearby, according to reports.
No one has been arrested for the murder of María Marta García Belsunce.