WARNING: Disturbing details.
Kimberlee Kasatkin appears bruised and bloodied in a series of videos that aired on Peruvian television, years after she went missing in the South American country.
Kasatkin, who is known to split her time between Peru and Abbotsford, was last in contact with her family on Nov. 26, 2016; nine days later, her parents Al and Kathy reported to the Abbotsford police that she had gone missing from her home in the capital city of Lima.
She lived there with her partner, Christopher Franz-Bettochi, and two children.
Bettochi was arrested in February of last year in connection with her disappearance, and charged with femicide — the killing of a woman.
Images that were broadcast on Peruvian TV showed Kasatkin displaying wounds on her face and her knee, and pulling out strands of hair that she said her partner was responsible for.
Another image showed him carrying a heavy bag in a parking lot — allegedly, Kasatkin’s body. Bettochi has denied that, saying it was camping gear.
Kasatkin’s parents found out Thursday that Bettochi has been released on a technicality and due to court delays, and now they’re concerned that time is running out to see justice served.
“I’m very angry,” Kasatkin’s mother Kathy told Global News.
“With bruises and hair loss, and peticia in her mouth, according to the information we have, that’s from being strangled.”
News of Bettochi’s released “blindsided” the family.
“The press were contacting us from Lima and we had no idea what had happened,” Kasatkin’s father Al said.
The parents said the Canadian embassy in Lima has told them it sent a letter to the president of superior court judges in Peru, asking them to investigate why delays have been happening.
They’re still waiting for a response.
They’re trying to win custody of Kasatkin and Bettochi’s kids, aged eight and four, who remain in Peru.
The prosecutor in Peru has until the end of August to file the necessary documents.
The case could be thrown out if that doesn’t happen.