The murder of Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta completely shook the foundations of the Sancho-Bronchalo family, when it was learned that his son Daniel had confessed to the crime. The cook allegedly dismembered the victim before turning himself in at a police station on the island of Samui, where he has remained behind bars until the start of the trial this Tuesday. The date also arrives with some controversy behind it.
The almost surprise premiere of The Sancho Case, an HBO Max documentary series that recounts what happened, marked the beginning of the hearing during this Tuesday. A debut on the American platform that lasted just over 24 hours, after Episode Zero was suddenly removed. The main question about this matter is the reasons that led the family to record themselves telling this story.
Carmen Balfagón, Rodolfo Sancho’s lawyer, has been direct and forceful when explaining the reason for this recording: money. “Thailand is a bottomless pit,” commented the lawyer in And Now Sonsoles. In her words, Daniel’s father’s statements were sincere, and the production of the documentary arose from economic necessity to safeguard her son in the Asian territory.
Balfagón has had no problem admitting that the documentary was made for economic reasons, taking into account the expenses that are generated beyond our borders: Sancho’s food in prison, translators for all aspects, legalizations, travel and accommodation in a destination so far away from Spain and the lawyers’ assistants. Furthermore, he insisted that he would not have been able to attend the trial without this format.
“The truth is that in the conversation with Daniel, he told me that this guy had threatened him at the time, with death, with harm to his family. He defended himself against threats and an attempted sexual assault. And then he tells us what it was like: the fight, what happened after the fight, the fear, the panic, the state of dissociation,” the actor declared during his intervention in the documentary, expressing his fears.
Likewise, the detainee’s father expressed before the cameras what his process of action was on August 7, when he discovered the facts: “The first reaction is stupefaction and not believing what they are saying at face value because it didn’t add up at all, everything was very strange. He tells me that he had a fight with a guy I knew nothing about, and that it ended in a tragic way. He knew what he had to do from the beginning.”
