The Drum Kills Again: Ámbar and the Impossible Coercion episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 22, 2026 · 23 MIN

The Drum Kills Again: Ámbar and the Impossible Coercion

from True Crime Vanished · host Creator at Obomedia

The Drum Kills Again: Ámbar and the Impossible Coercion: The Homicide of Ámbar Cornejo in Chile A young woman disappears within seven blocks. Under the floor of the house where she was last seen, investigators find her body dismembered into fifteen parts buried two meters deep. The perpetrator had killed exactly this way before: dismembering and hiding after being released from prison four years earlier. How did a confessed murderer remain free to repeat the crime? In this episode, we explore the chain of decisions that allowed Hugo Bustamante, who in 2016 had already strangled and dismembered an ex-partner in a metal drum, to kill again. We unravel the paradoxical role of Denis, Ámbar's mother: her affectionate messages to Bustamante contradict her claim of coercion, while cameras show her buying wax and tools without signs of intimidation. Victim or active accomplice in the region's serial killer? Victim: Ámbar Cornejo Date: July 29, 2020 Location: Villa Alemana and Tibú, Chile Status: Convicted - Bustamante was released after eleven years for an identical crime in 2005: strangulation and dismemberment with concealment in a metal drum. - Cameras capture Denis and Bustamante moving a washing machine on July 30 at 1:00 PM, hours after the disappearance. - Denis bought floor wax, an axe, and knives on the same July 30; the merchant identified her without coercive signs. - Bustamante's searches include chloroform, ether, and prices for meat grinders, indicating total premeditation. Ámbar Cornejo, Villa Alemana Chile, 2020, dismemberment, serial killer, true crime, forensic investigation, judicial mystery, suffocation, concealment, Spanish true crimeTo listen ad-free and access premium episodes, start your 30-day free trial at obomedia.comOBOMEDIA presents true crime storiesa true crime podcast built on real cases.Every true crime story in our crime files follows the crime investigation from the missing person report to the trial: investigators and police building a murder case, a police investigation gone cold, justice for the victim and those who survived.We open the unsolved murder, the cold case reopened decades later, the mysterious death, the disappearance, the serial killer, the family murder, the murder mystery; the missing persons  a missing woman, a missing girl, a missing man found dead and the missing and murdered.From the infamous case to the unsolved case, from classic true crime to dark true crime and disturbing true crime: true crime reports, real crime stories, real murder cases, true murder stories and unsolved mysteries one true crime case at a time, from the OBOMEDIA true crime vault.© 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text and related materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing and business inquirie

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