Paraguay Charges Man in Femicide of Law Student, 22
CRIME · PARAGUAY
Key Facts
- —The country Paraguay, a landlocked South American country bordering Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia, governed by President Santiago Peña of the conservative Colorado Party.
- —Why it matters The victim had reported her former partner and held a court restraining order. The killing has become a test of whether Paraguay can enforce its protection orders.
- —Why now The suspect was charged on Saturday, the Supreme Court opened an audit of the judges involved, and thousands marched in Asunción the same afternoon.
- —What happened Deisy Paola Giménez Segovia, 22, was shot dead in Lambaré on Thursday, 8 October. Prosecutors charged Aldo Alexis Duarte Moreira, 26, on Saturday, 10 October.
- —The numbers The Public Ministry counts 20 femicide victims in 2026 so far, plus 28 attempted femicides. Twelve of the 20 deaths were in Central Department.
- —What it means for you Visitors and foreign residents face no new risk, but the case shows how slowly protection orders are policed. Police emergencies go to 911.
- —Still open Whether a judge orders pre-trial detention, what the court audit finds, and whether any official is disciplined.
Paraguay prosecutors on Saturday, 10 October, charged a 26-year-old man with femicide over the shooting of his former partner, a law student who had already reported him. Deisy Paola Giménez Segovia, 22, was killed on a street in Lambaré, a city on the southern edge of Asunción. The Paraguay femicide case matters beyond the country because it exposes a gap seen across the Americas, including the United States: a restraining order on paper, and no one enforcing it.
On the same day, the Supreme Court ordered an audit of how the courts handled her complaints, and thousands of women marched through central Asunción that afternoon. The suspect, Aldo Alexis Duarte Moreira, has not been tried and is presumed innocent.
What Happened in Lambaré
Giménez was walking to work shortly after 10 p.m. on Thursday, 8 October, in the Santa Lucía neighbourhood of Lambaré. She worked at a branch of the Biggie supermarket chain, ABC Color reported.
Security cameras recorded a man in a white car cutting off her path about a block from the shop. She tried to run and screamed for help. The gunman fired, then fired again after she fell, and drove away.
A forensic examination found two bullet wounds to the head, El Nacional reported. She was a month away from finishing her law degree, according to La Nación.
Police arrested Duarte at about 11:20 p.m. on Friday, 9 October, in the Naranjaisy area of Villeta, south of the capital. Commissioner Abel Cantero, head of the National Police homicide department, said the suspect’s relatives persuaded him to give himself up.
Cantero told reporters the suspect claimed he had acted in “a fit of rage” and later tried to shoot himself, but the gun failed. These are police accounts of what the suspect said. They have not been tested in court.
A Restraining Order That Did Not Protect Her
This Paraguay femicide has caused outrage because Giménez did what the system asks of victims. In mid-September she filed a complaint for domestic violence at a police station in Capiatá, east of Asunción.
In that complaint she described physical, verbal and psychological abuse during a five-year relationship. It included an attempted strangling and a smashed phone, El Nacional reported.
Lidia Fariña, the justice of the peace in J. Augusto Saldívar, told ABC TV that an urgent protection order followed. It barred Duarte from coming within 500 metres of Giménez or contacting her by any means.
The judge said he kept harassing her anyway, and a separate case for contempt was opened with prosecutors. At a hearing, she said, Duarte denied every accusation and threatened to sue the victim’s mother for false testimony.
The Ombudsman, Rafael Ávila Macke, whose office monitors human rights, demanded an inquiry into possible state failures. “No woman should lose her life after going to the institutions in search of protection,” he said in a statement.
Charges, Audit and a March
Lambaré prosecutor Amelia Bernal Jara charged Duarte with femicide and intentional homicide on Saturday. He appeared with a public defender and declined to make a statement, which is his constitutional right.
She asked for pre-trial detention. The file went to the duty court in San Lorenzo, which must rule on that request.
Paraguay’s 2016 law on violence against women, Law 5777, punishes femicide with 10 to 30 years in prison. That range applies in several cases, including when the killer had a current or past relationship with the victim.
The Supreme Court ordered an immediate audit of the courts’ handling of the case, at the request of Justice Eugenio Jiménez Rolón, who supervises the Central judicial district. Its findings may lead to disciplinary measures, La Nación reported.
On Saturday afternoon, thousands filled the Plaza de la Democracia in Asunción at a march called by the Articulación Feminista del Paraguay 25Npy, a coalition of women’s groups. Speakers blamed the police, the Interior Ministry, the Ministry of Women and President Peña.
Marchers carried candles and banners, ABC Color reported. Earlier, crowds had jeered Duarte as he arrived at the prosecutors’ office.
What It Means for You
For visitors, investors and foreign retirees, the Paraguay femicide figures do not signal a new security threat. Most femicides happen between partners, and 15 of this year’s 20 took place inside homes, according to the Public Ministry.
It does show a weakness that matters to anyone living there. Protection orders exist, but the police capacity to enforce them is thin. Victims are often left to report breaches themselves.
Police emergencies in Paraguay go to 911. The Ministry of Women runs the 137 “SOS Mujer” helpline, though RDN reported on Friday that the line was down because of a phone-system fault.
US citizens in trouble can also contact the US Embassy in Asunción. For wider context, see our report on Paraguay Trafficking Probes Halve as US Keeps Tier 2 and our guide Paraguay Explained: The Country, Its Politics, Its Economy and What to Watch.
What Is Not Known
It is not yet known whether the San Lorenzo court has granted pre-trial detention. Duarte has not given his own account to prosecutors, and his lawyer has not spoken publicly.
The exact steps police took after the restraining order was breached are unclear. The court audit has no published deadline.
It is also unclear whether the 137 helpline has been restored. The Public Ministry’s count of 20 femicide victims, published on Friday, already includes Giménez, according to ABC Color; any later cases are not yet in it.
For the government, the Paraguay femicide count is now a political issue as well as a policing one. The next test is whether the audit leads to concrete changes in how protection orders are followed up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Deisy Paola Giménez?
She was a 22-year-old law student and shop worker who was shot dead in Lambaré, near Asunción, on 8 October. She had reported her former partner for violence and held a restraining order.
What is the suspect charged with?
Prosecutors charged Aldo Alexis Duarte Moreira, 26, with femicide and intentional homicide on 10 October. Femicide carries 10 to 30 years in prison under Paraguayan law. He is presumed innocent until a court rules.
How many femicides has Paraguay recorded in 2026?
On the official Paraguay femicide count, the Public Ministry counted 20 femicide victims and 28 attempted femicides in 2026 as of its report on 9 October. Twelve of the deaths were in Central Department.
Sources: Public Ministry data via ABC Color; Law 5777 (BACN); El Nacional; La Nación (court audit); La Nación (police briefing); ABC Color (judge); ABC Color (march); ABC Color (Ombudsman); RDN.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error