Lesbian couple given life sentences for murder and sexual abuse of their 5-year-old son, text messages between them claimed he was challenging ‘the flow of their relationship’

The boy's mother, Magdalena Espósito Valenti, and her partner, Abigail Páez, allegedly murdered him because he was messing with "the flow of their relationship."

According to the Buenos Aires Times, both Espósito Valenti and Páez were found guilty of three counts of aggravated homicide, with the judge highlighting the former's failure to fulfill her duty as the mother of the boy. Páez was also found guilty of sexual abuse.

An examination revealed Lucio had died of an internal hemorrhage caused by being beaten. His body also had bite marks and burns.

Life imprisonment is the harshest sentence available in the Argentinian justice system. The three judges overseeing the case, Alejandra Ongaro, Daniel Sáez Zamora, and Andrés Olié, argued that such a punishment was warranted due to the thought the couple put into the murder, and the horrific abuse the child endured in the lead-up to his death.

A psychiatric evaluation revealed that Páez "has clear notions of right and wrong, just and unjust, lawful and unlawful, knows that the alleged act constitutes a crime and knows the responsibilities that would correspond to her, that is, she understands the criminality of her acts and can direct her actions." Espósito Valenti's evaluation produced similar results.

Lucio's grandfather, Ramón Dupuy, had petitioned during the trial for gender hatred to be included in the aggravating circumstances for the homicide allegation, claiming that, "there is evidence that Lucito was killed for being male."

As the Buenos Aires Herald reports, during the trial numerous witnesses came forth saying they heard the couple deliberate how they were going to get rid of Lucio. Text messages revealed that Espósito Valenti messaged Páez saying she wouldn't allow her son to disrupt "the flow of their relationship."

When Lucio's parents split, he ended up under his aunt and uncle's care, however, Espósito Valenti won a custody battle and he went to live with her and Páez in 2020. He was killed on November 26 the following year.