Netflix's series on Alberto Nisman addresses the conflicting theories of murder and suicide behind his death
The death of Argentine lawyer Alberto Nisman has been the subject of fascination, conspiracy theories and controversy ever since his death in 2015. The Netflix documentary ‘Nisman: The Prosecutor, the President and the Spy’ provides a lot of context and information about the suspicious circumstances of the death, but provides no clear resolution. Even with the official Gendarmerie report declaring his death a homicide, there are a lot of vital, unanswered questions regarding Nisman’s death.
The answers behind the case are vital, as the suspicious circumstances of his death have a direct connection to ex-president Cristina Kirchner, along with several other members of the Argentinian government at the time. Nisman had publicly accused them of concealment in the AMIA bombing of 1994, claiming to have evidence that would bring them all down. He was found dead five days later, on January 13, 2015.
The case for suicide
One of the main reasons that Nisman’s death was ruled as a suicide simply because there was no evidence that indicated otherwise. Nisman was found dead in a hotel bathroom in Buenos Aires, with no signs of forced entry or, indeed, that anyone had been inside the room or the bathroom at all at the time of his death. No prints, no DNA evidence, no physical indications at all. Nisman’s body was even blocking the only door to the bathroom, making entry and exit from the room difficult.
If there was a murder, there is no explanation of how it was committed, or how the murderer left the room leaving no traces behind.
His friends and family insist that Nisman would never have killed himself, but it’s no secret that Nisman was under a lot of stress. He had been working the AMIA case for over a decade, with no concrete results. He had just gone on live TV to publicly take down the president herself, with evidence that was immediately questioned in ways that Nisman was unable to satisfactorily answer. Additionally, new evidence has come to light that Nisman had several offshore accounts, and he is posthumously under investigation for bribery charges.
The gun that was found on his body was provided by an employee of his, Diego Lagomarsino, after Nisman told him he was worried about his life and the life of his two daughters. He had, in fact, canceled a trip to Europe with his daughter prior to making his announcement. Prior to his death, Nisman also deleted a large number of his text messaging history. It’s not impossible that Nisman’s family was under threat following his announcement, and that taking himself out of the picture was the only way to keep them safe.
One of the main points that is brought up by those who believe Nisman was murdered is that there was no gunpowder residue found on the prosecutor’s hands. However, considering that the gun used was of a small caliber, gunpowder residue may not necessarily have been left on his fingers.
Diego Lagomarsino is currently on trial for his association with Nisman’s death. According to Luis Olavarria, a criminologist for Lagomarsino’s defence, the bloodstains left behind show a clear case for suicide, as had there been other people in the room, the blood would have splattered in different ways.
The case for murder
In 2017, the Gendarmarie, Argentina’s border police agency, was tasked with looking into the evidence related to Nisman’s death, after Nisman’s family demanded a more thorough investigation in court. The Gendarmarie were chosen for their neutrality to the case. Having no history with its investigation, it was believed that they would be able to come into it with fresh eyes. They requested three months in order to deep-dive into the presented evidence, and their report uncovered new evidence which led them to report that Nisman’s death was a homicide.
Comparing the body’s final position with the splatter of blood on the sink, the Gendarmarie concluded that a ruling of suicide was inconsistent. The only possible way for the blood to splatter the way it did was if there was another person holding the gun.
A turning point in the investigation was the discovery of ketamine in Nisman’s system, which once introduced into a system can work as a sedative. The investigation ultimately came to the conclusion that between the drugs and the blood splatter evidence, there were two people who drugged Nisman, shot, and killed him, although how they left they managed to leave no other physical evidence behind whatsoever is not explained.
In support of the Gendarmarie report, it’s been pointed out that the initial investigation into Nisman’s death was handled less than professionally. There are videos of crime scene investigators examining the scene without gloves, or head coverings. There are even shots of the Prosecutor Vivian Fein accidentally stepping in Nisman’s blood.
It is the Gendarmarie report that has reopened Nisman’s case, and both Lagomarsino and Kirchner are currently on trial. It is hoped that both trials will uncover the evidence necessary to finally bring Nisman’s killer - or killers - to justice, and imprison those responsible for the crime.
