José Parra, lawyer for the family of murdered former rector of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) Mateo Aquino Febrillet, has said that union head Blas Peralta, supposedly offered RD$16 million to his chauffer, Franklin Venegas Rivas, to take the blame for the murder.
He said that the chauffer has refused the money since he has an orphaned teenage daughter, whom he would have to abandon to serve time in jail.
Parra went on to say that it is presumed that Peralta was the one who shot Febrillet and then washed himself in oil to destroy the evidence.
However, the lawyer for Peralta, Francisco Taveras, says there is not sufficient proof to convict Peralta since the prosecutors cannot show that it was he who pulled the trigger.
Venegas Rivas is still in a holding cell at the Justice Palace after having been taken there from his normal jail cell.
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