Rita Paredes Rioja was reported missing by concerned neighbours who hadn’t seen her for a month, but her husband was hiding a dark secret and was later arrested by police
A man has been taken into custody for allegedly murdering his wife and then sleeping next to her decomposing body for several weeks.
Rita Paredes Rioja had not been seen by neighbours for a month. Her partner, Douglas Salazar Castillo, is accused of pretending that she was still alive, even going as far as calling out her name whenever he arrived home to maintain the illusion of normality.
The 57-year-old is alleged to have killed Rita before wrapping her body in a blanket and spending the following weeks sleeping next to her decaying corpse.
It’s reported that he eventually confessed to the crime to a security guard at their residential complex in Lima, Peru. He even sent a photo of his wife’s dead body to the security official who immediately alerted the police.
Upon arrival, officers discovered Paredes’ body wrapped in a blanket alongside several empty alcohol bottles. Authorities are now awaiting autopsy results to determine her exact cause of death.
If the post-mortem reveals she died from an external cause, Salazar could face charges of femicide. The victim had previously reported her husband for domestic violence on multiple occasions, but they always reconciled.
Neighbours reported frequently hearing the couple argue and suspected habitual violence, according to NeedToKnow. Salazar remains in police custody while the investigation continues.
It comes after a 2023 report that detailed how an 82-year-old man kept his dad, 101, in a freezer after he died from natural causes in Limburg in the Netherlands.
The man, who was arrested, told local media: “I did not want to let him go or I would miss him.” He also revealed that although he was dead, he still wanted to talk to him.
In a similar story from 2022, an elderly man, Charn Janwatchakal, 72, lived with his wife’s body in small one-room home in Bangkok, Thailand, for 21 years.
However, he eventually decided to have her remains cremated and was photographed assisting in the carrying of the coffin near his home in the Bang Khen district.
In a video, he told his wife: “You are just going for a brief business and you’ll be back home again. It won’t be long, I promise.”
