The murder of Catalina Gutierrez

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21-year-old Catalina Gutierrez seemed to have an absolutely idyllic life that was documented in carefully curated images posted to social media. Those who scrolled through her posts saw a gorgeous girl who seemed to have it all; a creative spark, a loving family & a picture perfect relationship with her boyfriend. Catalina’s social media pages radiated with art, fashion & love, but behind the lens, a darkness was creeping that the young girl was sadly unaware of. This is Catalina’s story; one of beauty, obsession & a deadly lie hidden in plain sight.

In July 2024 Catalina sent innocent words of affection to her boyfriend in a voice note that became her final message, I’m on my way my love, see you soon. She planned to meet up with friends that night & when she failed to arrive, their concerns began to grow as more & more time passed without Catalina’s arrival.

Catalina was born in 2003 in Cordoba, Argentina to parents Elenora Volenwier & Marcelo Guitierrez. Her father was a well-respected architect whose work could be seen across the city’s skyline which reflected Marcelo’s love for artistic expression. Catalina was raised surrounded by music & art as her family encouraged her creative side to flourish. She was exposed to her father’s visions, watching him sketch buildings & dream up new designs that would stand out among the city’s skyline.

From the time she was a young child, Marcelo began teaching his daughter to play the guitar while Elenora was a supportive, nurturing figure in Catalina’s life that allowed her & her older sister, Lucia, to thrive. Catalina & Lucia had an exceptionally close bond that Marcelo would later describe as a divine connection.

As Catalina grew, she began following in her father’s footsteps & eventually enrolled in architecture at the University of Cordoba. She had a warm, magnetic presence that quickly drew others to her & she naturally led many group projects. As her schooling was in full gear, Catalina began building a significant social media presence where she eventually garnered over 100,000 followers on Instagram & 35,000 on TikTok. 

Catalina’s posts displayed what appeared to be charmed, young life; not only was she incredibly gorgeous, but her clothing was envy inducing & she highlighted the beauty of her home country of Argentina. She also shared her design projects with her followers as well as moments with those that she loved, including her beloved dog.

Catalina was an open book when it came to sharing herself with the world & she frequently posted about her boyfriend, Lazaro Leda, a fellow architecture student. The couple connected over their similar interests as well as their shared Christian faith & followers ate up the content that she posted.

Wednesday, July 17, 2024 started like any typical weekday for Catalina; she attended her classes, posted a few stories to Instagram that displayed her outfit choice while she shared her plans for the day. She planned on meeting up with friends for a night of bowling at the Patio Olmos shopping center. At 9 pm, Catalina headed out in her mom’s silver Renault Clio to pick up her friend & classmate, Nestor Soto Aguilar, on her way to the bowling alley. The two had met when Nestor, who was from Bariloche, joined her study group during his second year of college.

Catalina’s family lived in a gated community that captured images of her departure & these photos would be the last of the young woman alive. She sent her boyfriend the voice note at 9:12 pm, letting him know that she was on her way. However, hours ticked by & there was no sign of Catalina. Her friends grew concerned when she didn’t arrive as planned, yet their calls went straight to voicemail while her WhatsApp messages went unanswered despite the fact the messages displayed two blue ticks marks, indicating that they’d been read. Her normally active social media presence was also suddenly quiet.

By midnight, Elenora & Marcelo had spoken with a concerned Lazaro & were aware of the fact that their daughter seemingly vanished. They both tried desperately to remain calm, but couldn’t help their rising panic as Marcelo contacted area hospitals while Elenora reached out to friends & relatives. No one had seen nor heard from Catalina & as each passing minute turned into an hour, their fears only mounted.

The Guiterrez family, alongside Lazaro & Nestor Soto, went to a local police station in the early morning hours of Thursday, July 18 to report Catalina missing. Because Catalina’s social media pages were silent, paired with the fact that she’d failed to arrive at the bowling alley as planned without contacting anyone, elevated the case’s priority. Her bank cards had also gone unused since she’d vanished.

It wasn’t until sometime later that day when the first breakthrough came after residents in a quiet neighborhood in south Cordoba reported seeing an unfamiliar car that had been parked in the same location since the previous night. The car was especially notable because it gave off a smoky odor & some people questioned if it stemmed from mechanical issues. At this same time, Catalina’s sister was also able to use her cell phone’s tracking to pinpoint her sister’s location to this neighborhood.

Authorities responded to the car’s location & were stunned & sickened by what they discovered inside. The car was a Renault Clio, registered to Elenora Volenwier. As they opened the car’s door, they found the partially charred remains of 20-year-old Catalina Gutierrez in the backseat. It was clear based on the content of the car’s interior that there had been a struggle as Catalina’s belongings were strewn about. It was also obvious that in a panicked hasty moment, her killer attempted to set the car ablaze with alcohol with the goal of erasing potential evidence. However, they were thankfully not successful as the flames were quickly extinguished which allowed investigators to find crucial forensic evidence that ultimately led to the person responsible. 

In an instant, the case went from a missing person investigation to a homicide case. The initial autopsy proved that Catalina had been beaten, gagged & eventually asphyxiated by strangulation before the killer tried to burn her body. She suffered multiple blows to her face, specifically the left side as evidenced by bruising to her eye, temple & cheek. The autopsy ruled out sexual assault. According to the medical examiner’s report, Catalina had desperately tried to fight off her attacker, proven by the defensive wounds to her arms & hands. The report confirmed that she was gagged & bound at the wrists, leaving glue marks in the area that proved her killer used some type of substance to immobilize her. Injuries to her neck showed clear signs of defense & struggle while she was strangled by some type of noose. Vital evidence was located under her fingernails which later became key in this case.

The medical examiner estimated that Catalina died sometime between 9:30-11 pm on Wednesday night, proving that she was killed between 18 minutes to several hours after her last communication as her last text was sent at 9:12 pm. 

Using various security cameras from around the area allowed investigators to establish a timeline that traced Catalina’s last movements. Footage depicted the Renault Clio driving in the direction of Nestor’s neighborhood at 9:17 pm which was consistent with her plans to pick him up on the way to meet up with friends. An hour & a half later, the car was captured on cameras closer to the vicinity of where the car had been located but because the footage was poor quality, it could not be determined who was driving.

Both Catalina’s cell phone as well as her social media accounts also became a vital source of information in this case. Tech specialists from Cordoba Cyber Crimes Unit went on to analyze her digital footprints, recovering deleted messages & mapping Catalina’s last movements with cell tower data.

Review of this information proved that Catalina’s phone remained in the vicinity of Nestor’s home for 38 minutes on the night she vanished. This was in direct contrast to the information Nestor provided authorities when he indicated that Catalina never arrived to pick him up. When he was confronted with this information, he suddenly changed his story. This time, he said that she did come by his home, but she left after a brief conversation.

With this sudden change in Nestor’s version of events, investigators were immediately suspicious of him. With this, his phone was forensically analyzed which determined that he deleted several text messages from his phone on the evening in question. More concerning, his internet search history proved that in the days leading up to her murder, Nestor had been trolling Catalina’s social media profiles as he searched for information about her relationship with Lazaro. 

Investigators swiftly turned their full attention to Nestor as they dug deeper into his background. It wasn’t long before four classmates & an ex-girlfriend came forward to provide information about their interactions with Nestor. This painted a picture of a young man who was unwilling to accept rejection & was prone to falling into extreme obsessions. Julia Martinez had briefly dated him during their first year at university & when she ended the relationship, she realized that Nestor was increasingly possessive & controlling. 

She elaborated that he often showed up unannounced & unexpectedly wherever she just so happened to be. After she ended the relationship, he created multiple social media accounts that monitored her movements which caused her to block dozens of profiles.

Ana Suarez was a former classmate who told investigators that Nestor tried to force himself on her while they were at a university camp & he refused to accept her rejection.

With this information, investigators began reviewing security footage from the weeks prior to Catalina’s murder to track his movements. They were met with disturbing images that proved Nestor had been driving near Catalina’s home on multiple occasions, likely surveying her while she was fully unaware.

When Nestor was brought in for an interview, he fully denied having anything to do with Catalina’s death. The questioning became more & more intense as investigators were positive that they were sitting across from the person responsible for the young girl’s brutal murder. His absolute denial slowly but surely began to crumble into partial admissions, each time his story morphed to fit his new set of lies.

During the third day of questioning, Nestor was presented with cell tower data that displayed his movements on the night of the murder. It was this information that caused his facade of innocence to crumble. As tears poured down his face, he told detectives that Catalina had been the love of his life. He elaborated that despite the fact that she had been unable to see that, they were meant to be together.  He confessed that he’d been immediately captivated by her when they first met at university & while their friendship grew, as did his resentment & jealousy toward Lazaro because of his relationship with Catalina. It was his full belief that she was with the wrong man & he only needed for her to see that too.

According to Nestor, he came up with a plan for the Wednesday night in question. Since Catalina was dropping by his house to drive him to the gathering with friends, he was going to take the opportunity to confess his true feelings of love toward her. He hoped that she would see their true connection, the fact that they were soulmates & she would be persuaded to leave Lazaro. 

This conversation opened the floodgates, allowing investigators to see the full, dark & gory picture of Catalina Gutierrez’s final, terrifying moments. As she arrived at Nestor’s home to pick him up, he asked her to come inside for a quick moment on the false pretense of helping him with an architecture project. Once inside, he suddenly professed his love for her. Catalina was kind yet firm as she explained that she was happy in her relationship with Lazaro.

It was in this moment of rejection when Nestor suddenly snapped. His once friendly & casual demeanor was instantly replaced with violence that ended in tragedy. Investigators believe that the attack began in Nestor’s house & he moved her body to her mother’s car after she was unconscious. He drove the car to the Ampliacion Kennedy neighborhood where it was eventually located & he then attempted to set ablaze. 

Security footage identified Nestor removing Catalna’s lifeless body from inside his home & a ring as well as hair belonging to Catalina was also located in his home that was torn off during her attempts to save herself from his attack.

Following his confession, Nestor was promptly charged with aggravated homicide as well as gender violence, crimes that carry the possibility of life in prison under Argentina Law. 

The prosecution built their case on the solid foundation that included physical evidence, the digital trail as well as Nestor’s confession.

As soon as Nestor obtained legal representation, he no longer cooperated with authorities & his defense team leaned on a case of temporary insanity. Defense attorney Manuel Vazquez indicated that his client suffered a psychotic break due to severe emotional stress & rejection. 

Preliminary hearings detailed the timeline of events that were built using over 300 pieces of digital evidence that included cell phone data, security cameras & social media data. Digital forensic specialists were able to prove Nestor’s online obsession with Catalina. The DNA found under Catalina’s nails was also presented.

The defense team was faced with a major obstacle when Nestor refused to cooperate with court-ordered psychiatric evaluations while his mother testified about her son’s allegedly fragile mental state. 

Residents of the town of Cordoba were stunned by the crime while the University of Cordoba, where both Catalina & Nestor were students, were rattled to the core as it proved that no one was aware of the darkness lurking within Nestor. Catalina’s now empty chair was a constant reminder of the sudden loss of a life cut far too soon.

After her death, Catalina’s once vibrant social media platforms morphed into followers who shared memories of her & called for justice, sharing the hashtag #JusticiaParaCatalina (#JusticeForCatalina) that spread throughout Argentina. This brought attention to the issues of gender violence & a friendship that was masked by obsessive thoughts & fantasies. 

Meanwhile, the Gutierrez family tried to put one foot in front of the other as they waded through their never ending grief at losing their loved one to a senseless act of violence at the hands of someone she viewed as a friend. Marcelo went on to become a voice for prevention of violence & improved legal protection for women. During an interview on local media, he expressed his grief saying, I am in pain & I don’t understand it. The only thing I want is justice & for him to rot in prison for the rest of his life because he does not deserve to live in this society.

Catalina’s sister Lucia went on to write a farewell message which she shared on social media along with photos of her & Catalina smiling as she wrote, My sister, I will always remember you with your smile & joy that made you so unique & special. I love you with all my soul my Catu & I always made sure to let you know, I couldn’t have had a better sister, now we’re fused & we’re two in one person. Wherever you are, I hope you’re at peace, don’t ever leave me alone & always help me because I’m going to need you all my life.

Nestor Soto’s attorney has requested psychiatric evaluation to assess his legal capacity in order to avoid his attendance at the jury trial that was set to begin on February 27, 2025, something that the Gutierrez family realized was nothing more than a tactic to delay things. Soto had been charged with aggravated homicide due to premeditation & gender-based violence (femicide) & the starting date of the trial was dependent on his recovery & mental stability as determined by his mental health professionals.

The second hearing of the trial began in March 2025 where Nesto Soto was seen casually laughing with his lawyer, Angela Burgos Nino while Catalina’s family sat in anguish. The video of Soto laughing went viral while people commented on his blatant disrespect for her family & the harsh punishment he deserved.

According to statistics, in 2023, approximately 51,100 women & girls across the globe were murdered by a close male family member or intimate partner. This equates to one murder every ten minutes with current & former intimate partners being the most common form of femicide at 60%. 

The term femicide was first used in the UK in 1801 to signify the killing of a woman. It is the intentional murder with a gender-related motivation vs. homicide where the motivation may be unrelated to gender. According to the FBI, there were an estimated 4,970 female victims murdered in 2021, one-third of which were killed by an intimate partner. This is likely an underestimate as the United States does not have a separate penal code for gender-related murders which makes it difficult to classify & track femicide. 

In January 2025, it was announced that Argentine President Javier Milei vowed to remove femicide from the country’s penal code, arguing that the law promotes the idea that a woman’s life is worth more than that of a man. This is despite the fact that femicide is a serious issue in Argentina & in 2023 alone, there were nearly 322 reported cases which is a 33% increase from 2022. 

Overall, men are more likely to be victims of physical violence, most often at the hands of a male perpetrator, usually unknown to the victim. However, when we narrow the focus to intimate partner violence, 23% of women have faced violence at the hands of an intimate partner compared to 7.8% of men since the age of 15, meaning women are three times more likely to have experienced partner violence than men.

During the trial, Nestor Soto spoke of the day that he murdered Catalina, describing the day as one that began completely normal. He organized a get together with three friends & when he spoke with Catalina, she agreed to pick him up. He said that when she arrived, he wasn’t ready, so she came inside to wait for him. He described their conversation during this time as somewhat curt. When he told her that he was going to change his clothes she said, Come on, dude. He claimed that he told her to take it easy & she got mad & slapped him & he retaliated by hitting her. She was knocked to the floor where they began fighting & when she grabbed his throat, he put her in what he described as a rear-naked choke hold or mataleon technique until he realized she was dead.

He acknowledged that when he went to the police station along with Catalina’s family to report her missing, he pretended not to know where she was as he hugged her distraught mother.

He admitted to the murder but denied the accusation of a gender-based crime & during the hearing he stated, I am a murderer, but I want to defend myself: I am not a femicide.” He indicated that it had never been his intention to kill Catalina, but rather a result of an argument that got out of hand. Despite the other women who’d come forward to attest to Nestor’s obsessive, stalking ways, he claimed his life had been normal before his arrest. His defense team argued that the case should not be classified as femicide, but rather as simple homicide which would lead to a lesser sentence.

After realizing that Catalina was dead, he considered suicide by crashing the car or setting himself on fire. He grabbed some tape & placed it on her body so he could carry her to her car. He drove around until he stopped & poured alcohol around the car & lit a match. He then walked back to his apartment.

In March 2025 Nestor Soto was convicted by a jury of femicide & received a life sentence. During the trial he sobbed as he detailed how he killed Catalina while asking for forgiveness from her family though when given the opportunity to speak during the final hearing, he chose to remain silent. 

When Catalina’s mother, Eleonora spoke, she asked him to look at her, but he continued to keep his gaze toward the floor as she said, I have an extra place at the table, an extra bed, an extra seat in the car & all the love I have that I can’t give to Catalina. I miss her & her absence is so hard. When Nestor testified, she also spoke to him, Nestor, you didn’t just kill Catalina, you killed me, Marcelo & Lucia. You killed projects & a future. I regret the day that Catalina met you so much. My daughter is in a box because of you.

Marcelo spoke of the pain he felt from losing his daughter who he described as an excellent daughter who was happy & the perfect student. He added that Catalina had never mentioned that Nestor had been acting inappropriately toward her. The two had been classmates, part of the same friendship group & Nestor had been to Catalina’s house countless times, welcomed by her family. The Gutierrez family trusted him & couldn’t wrap their minds around how he could have done such an unimaginable thing to their daughter. It was clear that he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing & Marcelo was thankful that justice was being served. 

Her hashtag, #JusticiaParaCatalina, still ripples, a cry against gender violence in Argentina and beyond. 

References:

1. Medium: Behind the facade: The devastating murder of Catalina Gutierrez
2. Clarin: “Now we are two in one”: the moving farewell of Catalina Gutierrez’s sister, the influencer murdered in Cordoba
3. Daily Mail: Influencer, 21, is murdered by ‘besotted classmate’ who thought she was ‘the love of his life’: Body is found burned in the back of a car after victim vanished while on her way to visit friends
4. Ours Abroad: Femicide trial begins in Cordoba
5. UN Women: Five essential facts to know about femicide
6. NIH: Femicide in the United States: a call for legal codification & national surveillance 
7. MSN: Nestor Soto’s defense will discuss the concept of femicide at trial
8. Pagina 12: Trial for the murder of Catalina Gutierrez postponed
9. The Guardian: ‘I can’t face how much she suffered’: Argentina femicides at record high as Milei dilutes protections
10. QCDFVR: Key statistics about men, women & violence
11. Council on Foreign Relations: Women this week: Crime of femicide may be removed from Argentina’s penal code
12. La Derecha Diario: He murdered his best friend in Cordoba & during the trial he was seen laughing
13. Infobae: Catalina Gutierrez’s femicide trial: details revealed about how young woman was murdered
14. La Nacion: The man accused of murdering the influencer from Cordoba cried, apologized & told how he killed her
15. National World: Influencer Catalina Gutierrez found dead in car park was murdered by classmate who was ‘in love’ with her
16. La Nacion: Life imprisonment. Nestor Soto was sentenced for the femicide of Cordoba influencer Catalina Gutierrez
17. El Observador: Femicide of Catalina Gutierrez: Nestor Soto sentenced to life in prison
18. LM Neuquen: Rio Negro native Nestor Soto explained how he murdered influencer Catalina Gutierrez]
19. Wikipedia: Femicide