Reannan, thank you for bringing attention again to the possibility that this couple is Argentinian, and perhaps victims of the Dirty War. I do not post often, but this case is the one that has captivated my attention on WS. Some time back, I did a lot of research, leading to a theory of the identities of this couple. Actually, I am not the first reader to suggest the ID's of this couple. They were first brought up in early threads by other posters.
Here are pictures of the disappeared Argentinian couple that I have come to believe are our victims.
http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k422/redmeli/MariaVazquezOcampoDeLugones_large.jpg
http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k422/redmeli/CesarAmadeoLugones_large.jpg
This couple, Maria Vazquez Ocampo De Lugones and Cesar Amadeo Lugones, were kidnapped in May 1976 and presumed taken to the Navy Mechanics School where many of the disappeared were tortured and killed. There are scant records of them having been there, and a one line notation that she may have been pregnant. Many don't believe that she could be our female victim because at autopsy, it was indicated the victim had never been pregnant. I have two theories about this. One, she may have miscarried early in the pregnancy, or two, the eye-witness guard who alleged she was pregnant was either lying or mistook her for someone else. The only evidence of this pregnancy is a one-line statement under her name. I will post links to articles I referenced at the bottom of my comment, as they are numerous. They are also loosely translated from Spanish, and hard to decipher.
Anyway, in my research, I discovered that the priest by the name of Christian Von Wernich, who was complicit in the kidnappings and witnessed and possibly participated in the torture of these prisoners, had been a personal friend to Cesar's brother, Eugene Lugones. They were friends as young men, and Eugene had inside knowledge of the priest's unsavory tendencies. When his brother and sister-in-law disappeared, Eugene made an inquiry to von Wernich as to his brother's well-being. Von Wernich indicated that Cesar was indeed alive, but offered no further information. Eugene Lugones later testified in Von Wernich's trial in the early 2000's.
Von Wernich had lived in California in his youth, and had connections there, and in other parts of the U.S. due to his status in the Catholic church. I believe it very possible that he arranged to have Cesar and Maria relocated to the U.S., specifically California. That would explain why the couple had souvenirs from the Western U.S. I believe they may have been given a car and/or a small amount of money. I doubt they had anything but the clothes on their backs when they arrived in the U.S. The jewelry they wore was most likely purchased in their travels across country.
I believe they thought if they got to the East Coast, they might be able to return to Argentina when the war was over. Unfortunately, they never got that chance. I believe it is very possible that people in the Argentine military discovered that they had been allowed to escape, and pressure was put on Von Wernich to reveal where they were. He probably gave them up fairly easily, and it is possible that the couple had kept in contact with von Wernich's California connection. As far as who killed them, it could have been random violence, or it could have been a hit. At that time, there was CIA involvement in the Dirty War. A particular agent, who is now in the WPP, was, IIRC, involved in a later assassination in Washington D.C. related to the Dirty War.
There would have been much incentive to kill this couple out of fear that they could testify to the torture and murder taking place in Argentina. Many people speculate as to why, if they were war refugees, they did not try to contact their families, or why their families did not try to locate them. This couple's families assumed that they were dead. Although they have registered their DNA in Argentina, it is for the purpose of possibly identifying the child that Maria supposedly carried. The couple would have known how dangerous it would be to contact family, as the war was still ongoing until the mid-80's. Even to this day, many people there are afraid to ask questions, as many of the military officers involved in the torture and killing were never brought to trial, and some are still in office. I made an e-mail inquiry of a contact there, and got an initial response, but as soon as I revealed the true nature of my inquiry, she stopped responding. I feel that some people there are still living in fear.
As to the gun that was found, I can't put much faith in the ballistics. I believe there was initially some confusion as to the caliber of weapon used. I don't see how they could have positively ID'd that particular weapon as the murder weapon, especially in 1976. That seems like a smoke screen. I believe it's possible that the local police suspected a political hit with international ties.
If you compare these photos with the post-mortems, the likenesses are uncanny. The moles on Maria's face closely match those of the female UID. The UID's face is swollen and distorted from the gun shot wounds, so they will not match up completely, but they are really close.
Here are some links for further background. You may have to have them re-translated in Google translate.
http://translate.google.com/transla...a=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=ivnso
http://translate.google.com/transla...Vk4&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=ivnso
http://translate.google.com/transla...ch?q=cesar+amadeo+lugones&hl=en&sa=N&start=30
http://translate.google.com/transla...ch?q=cesar+amadeo+lugones&hl=en&sa=N&start=20
http://translate.google.com/transla...ult&prev=/search?q=eugenio+lugones&hl=en&sa=G
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Townley
