Three women are killed and one is left fighting for life after two lesbian couples are set on fire in a ‘homophobic attack’ by a man who threw a Molotov cocktail into their guest house room

Three women were killed and one is fighting for her life after being set on fire in a suspected homophobic attack at a Buenos Aires guest house last week.

Local press reported that the four women were a lesbian couple and that their attacker threw a Molotov cocktail into their room.

The three deceased victims are Pamela Cobas and Mercedes Roxana Figueroa, both 52, and 42-year-old Andrea Amarante.

Ms. Cobas died in the hours after the attack on May 6, while Ms. Figueroa died on Wednesday after suffering burns over 90 percent of her body.

Ms Amarante’s death was confirmed on Sunday. It was reported on Monday that the fourth victim, 49-year-old Sofia Castro Riglos, was in hospital.

Police have not yet revealed a suspected motive behind the attack, which has sparked shock and anger in Argentina.

However, local reports said the women were in two couples and suggested the attack could have been motivated by homophobia, while locals said the attacker has a history of homophobic abuse.

According to reports, Ms. Cobbas and Ms. Figueroa were dating, while Ms. Amarante was dating Ms. Riglos.

A statement from Argentina’s LGBT Federation described the attack as “potentially one of the most abhorrent hate crimes in recent years.”

According to local media, the attacker has also been identified as Justo Fernando Barrientos, 62 years old.

He is said to have lived in the room next to the women in the boarding house where the attack took place, located on Olavarría Street in the city.

Residents of the boarding house who witnessed the aftermath said Barrientos punched and pushed them as they tried to flee their burning room.

“When they left the room, while they were on fire, he hit them and pushed them back into the fire,” 36-year-old Sergio Araujo – who lives on the second floor of the building – told Argentina’s LGBTQ+ news site Presents.

Diego Brítez, 51, who also lives on the second floor, added: “Five of us tried to separate him from her so he wouldn’t hit her anymore.”

The bystanders managed to take the women to the showers and flood them. “There were a number of us trying to help them. But there were people who didn’t come forward to help. That makes me angry,” Araujo told the publication.

“I carried the biggest one on my back to go down the stairs,” he said. ‘There she told me several times that it was him. I feel bad because we couldn’t save them.’

According to Mr. Britez, a street vendor, Barrientos had previously threatened them.

“He had already threatened them once,” he said. ‘It was last Christmas. He told them he was going to kill Mrs. Cobbas and Mrs. Figueroa and now look what happened.

‘They had a lot of arguments. They called the police once and I understand they filed a report. He called them ‘monsters’ because of their sexual (orientation).”

Ms Figueroa and Ms Cobas received care at a specialized hospital for burn victims in the Argentine capital, while Ms Amarante was taken to Penna Hospital with burns over half her body.

Police sources have said Ms Riglos is responding well to treatment – ​​including at Penna Hospital, according to the Buenos Aires Herald.

Barrientos has been arrested by the police. According to reports, he was found in one of the guesthouse’s bathrooms with a saw in his hand after injuring himself in the neck.

He is charged with murder and causing serious injury and is under investigation.

The Herald reported that firefighters found several burnt rags soaked in flammable liquid.

Local reports say the boarding house has twenty rooms and about thirty residents.

Among them are street vendors, retirees and cardboard recyclers who share a bathroom and a kitchen.

“Hate crimes are the result of a culture of violence and discrimination, supported by hate speech currently endorsed by several government officials,” Argentina’s LGBT Federation said in a press release after the attack.

“The only spaces that those of us who are victims of these attacks can take refuge in are being emptied or eliminated by the current government, such as the National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism.

“We will support them and help them and their families in whatever they need, and will follow the case in court so that justice is served.”

Reacting to the news, Human Rights Watch said: ‘They have not yet revealed a motive for the deadly crime, but hatred against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people has increased recently in Argentina. Prominent politicians, including some in high office, have promoted this hatred.”

The rights group pointed to a 2023 report that said “anti-LGBT speech by members of President Javier Milei’s political party, as well as on social media and on the streets, was highlighted during last year’s presidential elections.”

As a candidate, Milei himself railed against gender and sex education in apocalyptic terms. Current Foreign Minister Diana Mondino compared marriage equality to head lice.

It added: ‘The report finds that rising hate speech in Argentina “has created a climate of segregation, rejection and discrimination; the most fertile ground for violence against historically vulnerable groups.”

The Herald reported that Ms. Amarante was a survivor of the Cromañón tragedy.

In 2004, a fire broke out at a rock concert in Buenos Aires, killing 194 people and injuring 1,432 – one of the deadliest tragedies in music history.

The victims’ association Coordinadora Cromañón said in a statement: ‘Andrea was on the street and slept where she could.

‘Twenty years later, Andrea’s worst fears and nightmares came true.’