EPISODE · Apr 22, 2026 · 18 MIN
The architect who hired hitmen for inheritance
from True Crime Vanished · host Creator at Obomedia
The architect who hired hitmen for inheritance: The triple homicide of María del Pilar Pérez López A mother ordered the murder of her ex-husband, his partner, and her niece's boyfriend on the same street in Santiago. All to keep properties she believed belonged to her. But the hitman was arrested 24 hours later, confessed everything, and an innocent woman nearly spent years in prison for his crimes. In this episode, we explore the contradictions that dismantled the operation: 80 recorded calls between the mastermind and the hitman, a handwritten plan detailing every room of the target house, and an accidental murder that was not in the original plan. How did a respectable architect, daughter of a successful immigrant, end up sentenced to life in prison? Victims: Francisco Zamorano, Héctor Arévalo, Diego Smich Date: April 23, 2008, and November 4, 2008 Location: Santiago, Chile Status: Sentenced to 40 years effective, January 2011 - 80 calls between María del Pilar and the hitman Rus documented ongoing coordination post-murders. - Claudio Sosa, completely innocent, was arrested and pressured into confessing to a crime he did not commit. - A handwritten plan found in the hitman's house detailed the safe, rooms, and exact layout of the target. - Diego Smich died in an unforeseen struggle, it was not a planned murder, which generated unusual legal tension in the sentencing. María del Pilar Pérez López, Santiago, qualified homicide, hitman, property crime, 2008, forensic investigation, hired killer, criminal mystery, Chilean justice, 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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The architect who hired hitmen for inheritance
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