WARNING – CONTAINS DISTRESSING CONTENT: Fabiana Sirino, 8, has been remembered by her heartbroken mother as a ‘loving girl’ who ‘had her whole life ahead of her’ after she was brutally killed last week
An eight-year-old schoolgirl “used her dying breath” to name the man she believed attacked her and left her for dead in a forest.
Fabiana Sirino was found on the brink of death just 200 metres from her home in Venticinco de Mayo, Misiones, Argentina, after she went missing while travelling from school on November 15. Family members had launched an urgent search for the youngster, with her 11-year-old sister ultimately discovering her suffering from grievous injuries.
Speaking to local news outlet Cronica, Fabiana’s parents said their older daughter ran screaming “daddy, run! Fabiana is dead!” after seeing her sister lying on the ground. She had been brutally raped and was found with 13 stab wounds, but Fabiana was still able to name her attacker as she lay dying while being rushed to hospital.
Fabiana went missing while walking home from school, with local reports stating that the youngster would travel the first leg of her 1.2-mile route home with her cousins before continuing the rest of the way alone. The girl’s unnamed father said she identified Marcelo ‘Nanico’ Daniel Muller, 34, as her attacker as the family travelled to the emergency room, whispering: “Nanico did that to me.”
Her dad also revealed her heartbreaking final moments as she said: “Look at me, I’m going to die. My heart hurts.” Police have since arrested Muller on suspicion of murder, and he remains in custody, with Fabiana’s mother saying her daughter had spoken with her alleged killer before she was discovered in the Argentine woods.
She said the two had interacted the day before, and claimed he had wanted to sell her a machete and torch. The mum also claimed that Muller had even appeared at the scene shortly after her daughter was reported missing to help track down the eight-year-old girl. Her father said he arrived in the area “sweaty” and in disarray, and asked what had happened.
Authorities later confirmed they received reports that he was seen lingering around Fabiana’s school. The schoolgirl’s dad said: “He came running. He was shirtless, wearing shorts and black sneakers, all sweaty. He asked what had happened.” An autopsy later confirmed that Fabiana died from “hypovolemic shock”, an emergency condition where blood loss is so severe that the body cannot supply its vital organs.
Fabiana’s family has since gathered to remember the young girl, with her mum vowing in a statement to secure justice for her “loving girl” who “had her whole life ahead of her” and any other children who met a similar fate. The mum told local media: “She was such a loving girl, with her whole life ahead of her.”
She added: “I have no words to explain how there are such evil people in this world, to do so much evil to a girl of only eight years old. We want justice to be done. And for the other children to be looked after, so that it doesn’t happen again.” The investigation into Fabiana’s death is ongoing.
