An Argentine football star was found strangled by her ex-husband, who later committed suicide, in her apartment.
Florencia Guinazu, 30, who played for Argentino de Mendoza, was found beaten and strangled in the room she shared with former partner Ignacio Agustín Notto.
After the incident, a note was left in the window warning neighbors of the horrors they would find inside, reading: “Call 911. The children are alone.”
Multiple outlets including Oh Globosuggesting that Notto wrote the note after killing Guinazu, before killing himself shortly afterwards.
During this time, their two sons, aged five and seven, continued to play PlayStation in the main room of the apartment.
Argentinian footballer Florencia Guinazu was found dead in her apartment on Saturday
An autopsy revealed that her estranged husband, Ignacio Agustín Notto, had strangled her
According to reports, the eldest son knocked on the door of the bedroom, where the murder took place, but it was locked from the inside and no one answered.
He later walked into the courtyard of the complex before a neighbor eventually read the note and called police, who arrived on the scene shortly afterwards.
After breaking down the master bedroom door, they found Guinazu lying on the floor among bloodstains.
The autopsy showed, according to the statement released Monday, that the victim died of asphyxiation due to strangulation.
The incident comes just five months after Noto was the subject of a complaint from Guinazu, who asked him to leave their home in November 2023.
Despite telling police she was not injured by the ordeal, a restraining order was later issued – which was likely respected until the recent murder.
The Mendoza Homicide and Institutional Violence Prosecutor sent out a press release on Monday saying: “From that date until the event on Saturday, not a single complaint of violation of the proximity ban has been filed.”
Guinazu’s club posted on Instagram about the murder. They said: ‘Florencia Guinazu was a player in the First Division of Women’s Football 11 of Club Atlético Argentino.
In addition to her efforts on the field, Guizanu was also a social media influencer and had almost 25,000 followers on her Instagram page
Tributes began pouring in for the athlete, who filed a restraining order against her ex-husband just five months earlier
“We deeply regret her murder, which was a murder of women. Yesterday her husband Ignacio Notto beat her to death and then committed suicide.
‘Despite being legally united in marriage, they were separated, she had repeatedly accused him and he was arrested and released in November 2023.
‘Many details of the case are not yet known, we are waiting for more information. What we do know is that women’s football is in mourning and that another woman has been murdered at the hands of her ex-partner. STOP KILLING US’.
Guinazu was not only a footballer, but also had experience in rugby and had almost 25,000 followers on social media.
For support, call Samaritans on 116123 in the UK or visit www.samaritans.org or www.thecalmzone.net/get-supportor call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline on 988 in the US.