A mother-of-two has been sentenced to life in prison in Argentina after tying up her ‘sugar daddy’ during a sex game and then stabbing him to death.
Paula Romano, 34, was found guilty of murdered her 62-year-old lover Julio Cesar Vittoria by knifing him 24 times in the frenzied attack, which took place in July 2014.
She then stole 20,000 Pesos (about $1,300) and fled the scene.
Mr Vittoria, an ice cream shop owner, was found dead by his son with a rope around his neck and his wrists tied with pieces of silk at a property in the Flores district of Buenos Aires.
Romano went undetected for 15 months but was caught by police following an investigation.
During the case it emerged the pair had become lovers in 2003, when Romano worked as a waitress in a bar owned by Mr Vittoria.
Prosecutor Carlos Gimenez Bauer said: ‘Both had an interest in the relationship: one was economical by the part of Romano and the other was more intimate, for Julio’s part.’
On the day of the murder, Romano texted Mr Vittoria promising to tie him up and asking him to prepare for ‘a party’.
She later confessed to having been at the scene of the crime but denied taking part in any sex game. During her trial she said she could not remember what had happened and refused to answer questions.
She told the court: ‘I loved Julio, I do not understand what happened.’
However, crime scene investigators said the silk ties around Mr Vittoria’s wrists were not tight enough to disable him entirely, leading them to conclude he had entered into a sex game willingly.
Romano was sentenced to life in prison after the court heard she took advantage of the ‘trust’ that Julio had in her.
Some witnesses claimed that Romano was ‘addicted to sex’ and said that her medical records suggested she had been diagnosed with a sex-related behavior disorder.