NEWS

Myriams perfectly painted fingernails went on to solve her own murder

THE STORY SO FAR

In 2006, the Fefer family had a life in Lima, Peru that many would envy a fancy
lifestyle, the finest things. But behind closed doors, it wasnt such a happy home.
Accusations and bad feeling simmered under the surface. And when mother of the
family Myriam was murdered, suspicion fell on those closest to her.

THE CASE

With a final stroke of bright-red varnish, Myriam Fefer, 51, admired her newly painted
nails. They had to be perfect. Just like everything else in her life. Her make-up was
always impeccable, her clothes were immaculate, and wherever she went, she left a
trail of sweet-smelling perfume in her wake.

To the outside world, Myriam seemed to have it all. A good job working as an executive
for her father Enriques estate agency, and two beautiful children daughter Eva, 19,
and son Ariel, 17.

But in 1999, cracks began appearing in Myriams perfect life, when Enrique accused
Myriam of trying to murder him.

It seemed crazy, and the details of his accusation were even stranger.

Enrique was a diabetic and believed Myriam had tried to feed him sugar to bring on a
diabetic coma.

Whatever the truth was, Enrique promptly rewrote his will, giving Myriams share of his
inheritance to her daughter Eva.

The accusation created a deep rift within the family, and Enrique went to his grave in
2003, having never found peace with Myriam. However Myriam wasnt willing to let
things lie and convinced Eva to give her power of attorney over all of the assets
Enrique had left to her.

Myriam was once again back in the driving seat just how she liked it.

But no-one could have predicted what came next.

In the early hours of 15 August 2006, Myriams dead body was found sprawled on the
floor of her bedroom, to one side of her bed. Her pyjamas were drenched with blood.
Shed been strangled with cable from her computer. But not before putting up a fight.

Myriams arms were bruised and her white bed-sheets splattered with blood.

But the most telling sign, her perfect red, acrylic fingernails were broken from the
struggle as shed desperately tried to cling onto life.
And underneath them was skin and blood from her attacker as shed clawed back at
them in a desperate attempt at survival.

Who would commit such a dreadful crime?

Detectives werent sure at first, but they did believe that Myriam must have known her
killer, as there was no forced entry.

Valuable jewellery remained untouched, her dogs were undisturbed and Eva and Ariel
plus the family butler had slept through the whole thing.

As police investigated and Myriams secret life began to unravel, the tightly knit
community in Peru where she lived was gripped.

In a small room adjoining Myriams bedroom, detectives found torn up photos of her ex-
lovers, and strange items including a scorched bulls horn which may have been used
as part of a bizarre witchcraft ceremony.

Some thought Myriam may have been murdered by a lover.

But as she cared so much about her appearance, would she really have let her lover
see her dressed in a pair of casual blue and white pyjamas?

It seemed unlikely, especially as the autopsy discovered that Myriam had had a tummy
tuck and a breast augmentation, proving how greatly she valued the way she looked.

It was a mystery, but one thing was for sure.

There was someone who stood to gain from Myriams death Eva.

Now that her mother was gone, Eva would inherit the family millions and house.

Soon after her mothers death, Eva moved her girlfriend into the family home and held
loud, all-night parties.

Eight months after Myriams murder, Eva threw Ariel out of the house, and as if that
wasnt bad enough, she also told him that she refused to split the inheritance down the
middle.

Dont worry, I wont leave you on the street, she told him.

Her behaviour raised a few eyebrows and it didnt take long for suspicion to fall on Eva.

Was the unthinkable true? Had she really killed her own mother in cold blood?

Then something happened over 1,000 miles away in Salta, Argentina which took
suspicion away from Eva.

A notorious hitman called Alejandro Trujillo Ospina, 34, was in jail serving a three-year
sentence for extortion. Behind bars, Ospina was boasting to his fellow inmates about
how hed knocked off a Peruvian heiress in 2006. And her name was Myriam Fefer.
Word reached Argentine authorities who contacted the Peruvian police.

A DNA test proved that Ospina was indeed Myriams killer.

Her trademark fingernails, or what was under them, ended up being all the proof that
the police needed.

But there was one question that remained unanswered.

Why?

Before long, Ariel received a message from one of Ospinas family members, saying
that Eva had hired him to kill Myriam. Ospina, however, denied even knowing Eva, and
gave an entirely different version of events.

He said hed only entered Myriams house to steal, not to kill. But when Myriam had
begun to scream, hed panicked and placed his hands over her mouth, accidentally
suffocating her.

All the same, Eva was arrested and charged with masterminding her mothers murder.
Though she maintained her innocence.

But what was the truth?

Had Eva really turned to murder to get her hands on her mothers millions?

FORWARD NEWSPAPER

Myriam Fefer even broke her red, acrylic fingernails trying to fend off her attacker.

But in the early morning hours of August 15, 2006, the assailant succeeded in wrapping
a computer cord around Fefers neck and strangling her to death in the bedroom of her
home here.
Five months later, members of Perus small but tightly-knit Jewish community and
others who have followed the highly publicized case are still wondering: Who killed
the 51-year-old divorced businesswoman?
The murder of someone who belonged to a small community tends to draw the
attention of that community, said Gustavo Gorriti, a prominent Peruvian journalist who
is Jewish.
Police believe that Fefer knew her attacker, because no signs of forced entry were
discovered, her Maltese dog didnt bark and her extensive jewelry collection was
untouched. Her two teenage children said they had been asleep upstairs.
Caretas, Perus foremost newsweekly magazine, in one of two cover stories has written
about how police believe that Fefer had as many enemies as she had friends,
including members of her own family. Her father, who died in 2003, accused her of
trying to murder him 16 months earlier. Fefer worked as an executive for her fathers
real estate company. Add in the elements of witchcraft found in a small room adjoining
her bedroom including torn photos of ex-lovers and a scorched bulls horn and its
easy to see why this has become the most sensational murder in Lima in some time.
Ive never seen anything quite like this, said Enrique Zileri, Caretass publisher. Its a
mystery thriller, if you can possibly call it that. His magazines most recent article
reported the perplexing news that despite the abundant DNA evidence on her
broken fingernails, among other places police had yet to even run any tests. Lorenzo
Morales, who heads the police homicide department, declined to comment, citing the
ongoing investigation. He did complain that police feel as though they are under a
spotlight, given the immense publicity surrounding the case.
The news of Fefers murder triggered a wave of recollections of her from among the
2,800 members of Perus Jewish community. She studied at Leon Pinelo, Limas Jewish
school, but was not immersed in the Jewish community as an adult, said Jose Chlimper,
a classmate who is now a successful businessman.
After Chlimper spoke fondly of Fefer in a television interview, he said, A lot of people
called me afterward to ask why. The bad feelings stem from the accusation by Fefers
diabetic father, Polish migr Enrique Fefer, that she tried to kill him via a lethal
injection of liquid sugar. Enrique Fefer rewrote his will to give Myriams share of his
inheritance to her daughter, Eva. Enrique Fefers two brothers have been hostile to
Myriam ever since the incident.
Chlimper and others were surprised to see the cheery demeanor of Eva and her
brother, Andres, in interviews after their mothers murder. The siblings have told
authorities that they had stayed up talking with their mother until shortly before
midnight, prior to going to bed. Police have not ruled them out as suspects.
Suspicion also has fallen on alleged ex-lovers of Fefer, including one whose photograph
was torn by Fefer in what police believe was a Santeria witchcraft ceremony. Police also
found an altar, half-burnt cigars and images of saints. This secret life has puzzled
Limas Jews.
The witchcraft is weird, said Gorriti, the journalist. Thats not common in the Jewish
community.
The autopsy found that Fefer had had a tummy tuck and a breast enlargement, and her
ex-husband has been quoted as saying she cared very much about her appearance. So
if she was meeting with a paramour the night she was murdered, as some have
speculated, why was she wearing ordinary pajamas? This is only one of the mysteries
of the case that the police have yet to solve.