Suspect Arrested in Buenos Aires for Femicides in Córdoba and Capital

A 28-year-old man identified as Renato Iván Tavella was arrested early in the morning by members of the City Police Homicide Division at a hotel in the San Nicolás neighborhood. Law enforcement agents, who were simultaneously investigating a local homicide, carried an active arrest warrant issued in Córdoba for the femicide of 29-year-old Daniela Villalba.

The investigation into Villalba began after she was found dead with her throat slit inside her apartment on Boulevard Las Heras in Córdoba. Investigators noted that two days prior to her death, she had met with a client. Security camera footage tracked the suspect discarding a suitcase containing evidence, which was later discovered by garbage collectors.

Authorities traced the suspect through cellphone tower signals and witness statements. Investigators learned that after fleeing the crime scene, Tavella went to the Córdoba bus terminal and purchased a ticket to Buenos Aires. Cellphone tracking data ultimately led police to his location at a hotel on Perón Street.

Upon searching the suspect's hotel room, officers recovered two cell phones, an iPhone charger, cash, four SIM cards, and personal identification documents bearing his name. Authorities also discovered that a second crime with strikingly similar characteristics had occurred in Buenos Aires hours prior to his capture.

The second victim was identified as 27-year-old Tatiana Fernández, who was found dead in her bed on Libertad Street near the border of Retiro and Recoleta. According to investigators, Fernández was discovered by a friend who became concerned after the victim failed to answer phone calls following a meeting with a man she identified as Iván.

Investigators from both jurisdictions highlighted multiple similarities between the two crimes. Both victims were young women who worked as escorts and had arranged meetings with a man named Iván in apartments where they received clients. In both cases, the bodies were found lying face up on their beds and covered with bedsheets, the entrance doors were locked from the outside, and the victims' cell phones were missing.

Following his capture, Tavella was transferred back to Córdoba, where he will face formal charges of femicide and undergo psychological and psychiatric evaluations. Meanwhile, prosecutors in Buenos Aires are continuing to compile evidence placing him at the scene of Fernández's murder. If convicted on both counts, he will face separate trials.