Six Australian tourists are being accused by the family of a 45-year-old man for his death about six months ago when he fell 15 stories from an apartment building in an upper-class district in Peru’s capital, Lima.
Lino Rodriguez worked as a doorman for six years at an apartment building on Malecon Cisneros, a popular roadthat overlooks the Pacific Ocean in the district of Miraflores. He died last January when he fell from the 15th floor of the building.
Police initially said that Rodriguez had slipped while cleaning the apartment’s balcony, while other reports suggested that he may have committed suicide after falling heavily into debt.
Members of Rodriguez’s family, however, say the investigation was rushed and have reportedly come up with new forensic evidence that suggests he could have been murdered. They are demanding that the Australians, who left Lima shortly after the incident, be brought back to Peru for further questioning.
According to the family, Rodriguez had gone up to the 15th floor apartment in response to a noise complaint by residents in the building. The Australians, who were renting the apartment, were allegedly infuriated when Rodriguez asked them to turn down the music.
According to reports in local newspaper La Republica, Rodriguez was allegedly carried by several people and thrown from the building, but not before putting up a fight where he kicked and broke part of the window frame. Markings from that frame were reportedly found on his shoe.
One of the Australians who was with the group is Jessica Vo, of Victoria, a young woman who had just recovered from ovarian cancer, and was travelling in Peru for a month with her boyfriend Hugh Hanlon as part of her celebration. They met up in Lima with her boyfriend’s brother and three other Australians.
