Marco Antonio Gallego Gonzáles was a Peruvian businessman and stylist who became well known in the 2000s as a fashion consultant to celebrities and models in the Peruvian entertainment industry, sometimes referred to as "Chollywood." He led the Marco Antonio hair salon chain, with branches in Lima, Arequipa, Cusco, and Trujillo, published a fashion magazine called Belleza & Estilo, co-hosted the entertainment program Hola a todos, and authored a book titled En mis manos está tu belleza.
On July 9, 2009, two days after his 44th birthday, Marco Antonio was at his apartment in the Lima district of San Isidro. He was on the second floor with Jorge Luis "Coco" Glenni Ponce, a 21-year-old former model described as his then-partner or occasional partner. On the first floor, Miguel Ángel "Pachón" Velásquez Zarazú, 24, and Jordan Antonio Pacheco Huamanchumo, 19, were stealing his belongings in what police investigators described as a coordinated operation involving Glenni Ponce. When Marco Antonio went downstairs after hearing noise and discovered the robbery, he struggled with the men, who overpowered, beat, and ultimately killed him.
When he failed to appear the next day for Hola a todos, which he co-hosted with Katia Condos and Mathías Brivio, his friends grew concerned. Police found his body on July 10 lying face down on a living room sofa, torso bare, hands and feet bound with a computer cable, a black bag over his head, and a sports shirt used as a gag. His body showed bruises and cuts, leading the Criminal Investigation Directorate (DIRINCRI) to investigate the possibility that he had been tortured before dying of asphyxiation. An autopsy was conducted at the Central Morgue of Lima.
On July 13, 2009, police arrested Glenni Ponce and interrogated him for 20 hours; he confessed and gave details, including that each participant received 4,500 sols from the sale of stolen items such as five designer watches, two cell phones, clothing, and a laptop. Police investigators stated the primary motive was robbery of roughly 15,000 U.S. dollars and valuables, though the case drew national attention in part because of Marco Antonio's prominence as an openly gay public figure. During the legal process, differing accounts emerged, including suggestions of a crime of passion or revenge tied to claims about his HIV status; the case was also linked to the earlier killing of a friend, Puerto Rican stylist Roberto Izquierdo, on April 12, 2009, in a similar manner.
In September 2010, the Transitional Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Peru sentenced Glenni Ponce to 34 years in prison, along with a 200,000-sol civil damages fine; Velásquez received a life sentence. Sentences were later revised: Glenni Ponce's term was increased to 35 years, Velásquez received 35 years for aggravated robbery, and Pacheco received 20 years.
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