Nahir Galarza, 19, has become the youngest woman in Argentina to receive a life sentence after a court in Gualeguaychú, in Entre Ríos province, found her guilty of murder.

Galarza shot dead her former boyfriend, Fernando Pastorizzo, on December 29, 2017, the court found.

The 19-year-old was not present to hear the verdict. The court rejected her legal’s teams claims that “the gunshots that ended the life of Galarza’s boyfriend were not accidental, rather they were aimed at ending his life”.

“The defence’s hypothesis that the gunshots were involuntary has been disproven”, the court said.

Judges Mauricio Deruddi, Arturo Dumón and Alicia Vivian handed down the decision in what was a speedy legal process.

Galarza’s legal team has confirmed that they will appeal the decision.

The verdict prompted mixed reactions in Argentina, with many on social media questioning the judiciary’s speed in resolving the case when others involving violence against women take much longer.

However, the same court in Gualeguaychú where Galarza was tried also ruled on the Susana Villarruel murder, which occurred on July 10 last year.

Villarruel was shot dead by her former partner and the father of her daughter, Ramón de la Cruz Ortiz. The court found him guilty of murder and sentenced him to life in prison three months after the incident.

-TIMES