A Colombian appeals court has confirmed the bulk of the harsh prison sentence given to businessman Andrés Gustavo Ricci for the 2023 killing of Luz Mery Tristán Gil, a former world champion in speed skating. Tristán was fatally attacked at her home in a rural property known as El Mameyal, on the outskirts of Cali, in southwestern Colombia, on the night of August 5, 2023.
In March 2025, a criminal court in Cali sentenced Ricci to 45 years and nine months behind bars for the femicide—a legal term used across much of Latin America to describe the killing of a woman because of her gender, often carrying tougher penalties than ordinary homicide. Ricci’s defense team appealed the ruling, seeking to overturn or reduce the sentence.
According to documents obtained by the investigative unit of Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, the Superior Court of Cali has now ruled on that appeal. While judges dropped one of the original charges against Ricci and adjusted the calculation for another offense, they backed the evidence presented by prosecutors and the victim’s legal representatives, effectively reaffirming the case against him.
The court’s written decision is expected to be formally read out in a hearing set for Monday, September 28. The case has drawn wide attention in Colombia, both because of Tristán’s sporting legacy and the broader public debate over violence against women.
Want the full details behind the court’s decision? You can read the original report at El Tiempo.
Source: El demoledor fallo contra Andrés Ricci, el feminicida de la expatinadora Luz Mery Tristán (eltiempo.com).
Image: Patrick Feller, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).