The Murder of Micaela García

Disappearance and search

Micaela García was a 21-year-old physical-education student and activist from Entre Ríos. She was last seen in the early hours of April 1, 2017, after leaving a nightclub in Gualeguay. Her disappearance triggered a large search and widespread public attention. Her body was found a week later outside the city.

The criminal investigation ultimately focused on Sebastián José Luis Wagner and on whether other people had participated in or helped conceal the crime. This page does not reproduce graphic forensic details.

Wagner's conviction

On October 17, 2017, the Trial and Appeals Court of Gualeguay convicted Sebastián Wagner and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The court found him criminally responsible for sexual abuse in ideal concurrence with homicide aggravated by treachery, criminis causa and gender violence, or femicide.

In the same proceeding, Néstor Roberto Pavón received five years in prison for aggravated concealment. Gabriel Ignacio Otero was acquitted. Those different outcomes are preserved here rather than treating every person investigated as equally responsible.

Cassation and the dispute over Pavón

In June 2019, the Paraná Criminal Cassation Chamber rejected Wagner's challenge and confirmed his life conviction. The same chamber annulled Pavón's concealment judgment and ordered a new trial to examine whether his role had been more direct.

That portion of the litigation then moved through further provincial review. The procedural history matters because the case is not accurately described as fully closed merely because Wagner's conviction is established.

National Supreme Court intervention

On December 5, 2024, Argentina's Supreme Court granted a complaint brought in the case, declared the extraordinary appeal admissible and set aside the challenged ruling concerning Pavón. The matter was returned for a new decision consistent with the Court's reasoning.

Subsequent provincial proceedings again directed that Pavón face a new trial concerning alleged co-authorship. That allegation remains to be adjudicated in the new proceeding; it is not reported here as an established finding of guilt.

Current status in 2026

As of the latest reliable reporting reviewed on August 28, 2026, Pavón's new trial is scheduled to begin on October 29, 2026, with additional hearings planned through November 11. A May 2026 request to place him in preventive detention before trial was rejected.

The archive therefore classifies the case as Partially Adjudicated / Further Trial Pending. Wagner's life conviction is established and survived cassation review, but Pavón's alleged role remains the subject of a scheduled new trial. No outcome from that future proceeding is assumed.