A teen girl and two female cousins were tortured to death in Argentina and the gruesome killings were broadcast live on social media, authorities have said.
The dismembered remains of Lara Morena Gutierrez, 15; Brenda del Castillo, 20; and Morena Verdi, 20; were found dumped in a well behind a house after the trio was allegedly lured into a van with the promise of attending a party, the Buenos Aires Herald reported.
Gutierrez had five fingers on her left hand and one ear amputated before her throat was cut, Argentinian outlet La Nacion reported, citing law enforcement sources.
Del Castillo was stabbed several times in the neck and punched in the face before her killers delivered a fatal blow to her face, according to law enforcement.
After her death, her killers slashed open her abdomen.
Verdi was beaten in the face before her neck was broken.
Their barbaric torture was livestreamed in a closed group on social media, according to Buenos Aires Security Minister Javier Alonso.
The victims are suspected to have been butchered on the orders of a Peruvian drug trafficker, who accused the three of stealing a stash of cocaine.
“This is what happens to those who steal drugs from me,” a gang leader is heard saying in the video, Alonso told the press.
Four people, including two women, have been arrested for the killings which took place in a property dubbed the “House of Horrors” by Argentinian media in the town of Florencio Varela, around 16 miles south of the capital Buenos Aires.
Their bodies were discovered last Wednesday, five days after going missing on Sept. 19, with authorities saying the trio was killed on Sept. 20.
The gruesome slayings have sparked widespread protests across Argentina, with relatives of the victims speaking during a march in Buenos Aires on Saturday.
“Women must be protected more than ever,” del Castillo’s father, Leonel, told reporters.
He earlier said he couldn’t identify his daughter’s body because of the abuse inflicted on her.
“You wouldn’t do what they did to them to an animal,” the grandfather of the two cousins, Antonio del Castillo, said in a tearful interview, branding their killers “bloodthirsty.”
None of the four suspects has been publicly identified. They are expected to be charged on Thursday.
