The Feminicide of Abril Pérez Sagaón
Abril Pérez Sagaón was killed in Mexico City on November 25, 2019, months after reporting severe violence by her then-husband. Material participants in the killing have received prison sentences, but prosecutors were still seeking her former husband in 2026 as the alleged intellectual author.
Abril Pérez Sagaón's case became a major symbol of institutional failure around gender violence in Mexico. Earlier in 2019 she had accused her husband, Juan Carlos García Sánchez, of a severe attack. Judicial decisions reclassified that earlier proceeding in a way that permitted his release. On November 25, while Abril was traveling through Mexico City with her children, she was attacked and killed.
The earlier violence and judicial failure
Abril had reported an attack by García Sánchez in January 2019. The matter was initially pursued as attempted homicide, but judges later treated the conduct as family violence, allowing him to leave custody. In March 2021, Mexico City's judiciary removed two judges from office after concluding that their handling of the case lacked a gender perspective.
Those disciplinary findings do not by themselves prove who ordered Abril's later killing. They document failures in the earlier domestic-violence proceeding and must be kept separate from criminal responsibility for the November 2019 feminicide.
The November 25, 2019 killing
On November 25, 2019, Abril was traveling toward Mexico City's airport in a vehicle with her children after attending legal proceedings. She was attacked on the road and later died. Subsequent investigators developed a contract-killing theory and arrested multiple people accused of participating in planning or carrying out the attack.
Convictions of material participants
By May 2023, two material perpetrators, Rodolfo Daniel Banderas and Juan Carlos Rodríguez, had been sentenced to 52 years and six months in prison for the feminicide. Prosecutors publicly stated at that time that they were still working to bring the alleged intellectual author before a court.
In October 2024, a third participant, Amado Vicente Rodríguez García, known as “El Amado,” was sentenced to 39 years, four months and 15 days for feminicide and criminal association. Other proceedings involving alleged participants have continued on separate tracks.
The alleged intellectual author remained a fugitive
Mexico City prosecutors accuse Abril's former husband, Juan Carlos García Sánchez, of having ordered the killing. He has not been convicted for Abril's death and is therefore described here as the alleged intellectual author, not as an adjudicated murderer.
On July 7, 2026, the Mexico City Attorney General's Office announced a reward of up to 500,000 Mexican pesos for information leading to his location and arrest. Contemporary reporting said he remained a fugitive and subject to international efforts to locate him.
That continuing absence is why Crime by Region classifies the dossier as Unsolved / Partial. Material participation has been adjudicated for several defendants, but the alleged commissioning of the crime remains unresolved in court.
Proceedings were still moving in 2026
The wider prosecution remained procedurally complicated in 2026. Some defendants faced renewed or continuing proceedings, and Abril's family publicly criticized delays and the handling of parts of the case. This page does not merge every defendant into a single legal status: each person's responsibility depends on the judgment or procedural posture applicable to that person.
Several material participants have been convicted. Juan Carlos García Sánchez remains accused by prosecutors of ordering the killing but had not been tried and convicted for that allegation in the sources reviewed through September 4, 2026. The distinction is essential.
Timeline
- Abril reports severe partner violence
Juan Carlos García Sánchez is detained, but later judicial decisions reclassify the earlier case and permit his release.
- Abril is killed
She is attacked while traveling in Mexico City with her children.
- Judges removed
Mexico City's judiciary removes two judges over their handling of the earlier violence case.
- Two material perpetrators sentenced
Rodolfo Daniel Banderas and Juan Carlos Rodríguez receive 52 years and six months.
- Third conviction
Amado Vicente Rodríguez García receives 39 years, four months and 15 days.
- Reward announced
Prosecutors offer up to 500,000 pesos for information leading to García Sánchez's arrest.
Sources and further reading
- La Jornada — July 7, 2026 report on the 500,000-peso reward and continuing search for Juan Carlos García Sánchez
- La Jornada — May 22, 2023 report on the 52-year-six-month sentences for two material perpetrators and the continuing search for the alleged intellectual author
- La Jornada — October 16, 2024 report on the third convicted participant
- Milenio — March 25, 2021 report on removal of judges over the earlier violence proceeding
Last reviewed: September 4, 2026