After bail was denied to Damián Valdez-Galloso in his initial appearance before the Miami-Dade court, a new date has been set for him to present himself before the judge overseeing the case of the Cuban reggaeton artist El Taiger's murder.
According to statements made to the press by Teresa Padrón, manager of the deceased artist, Damián Valdez must appear before a judge again on November 22, when he will be required to plead guilty or not guilty to the charges against him related to the homicide of José Manuel Carbajal Zaldívar.
This Friday, Damián Valdez refused to appear for the second time before the Miami-Dade court; however, this time it was not related to the case of El Taiger, but rather to a prior accusation of sexual abuse and the violation of registration requirements with the authorities for this crime.
In her first appearance before the court, Judge Mindy S. Glazer questioned the prosecution on why the charge against Damián Valdez is second-degree murder rather than first-degree murder.
Teresa Padrón hopes that the charge will be upgraded to first-degree murder so that the sentence she serves will be even harsher and match the severity of her crime. She is also concerned that she might plead guilty, which could lead to a reduced sentence.
The artist's manager maintains that Damián had assistance after shooting El Taiger, reportedly from his wife. However, the information provided so far by the police has only revealed that the accused shot the reggaeton artist in the head, dragged him to a car, cleaned the crime scene, and then drove to the vicinity of Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he abandoned him inside the car.
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