INDH Adds Phone Wiretap to Oversight, Urges an Exhaustive, Unbiased Investigation

The National Institute of Human Rights (INDH) said on Wednesday, October 1 that it will include new information in its official monitoring of the Julia Chuñil case. The update follows a meeting on Tuesday, September 30 between the Institute’s director, attorneys Karina Riquelme and Mariela Santana, and Pablo San Martín Chuñil, the victim’s son. According to the INDH, participants raised “a series of procedural issues” and discussed “a phone recording in which a person allegedly referred to what happened to Julia Chuñil.”

The Institute also recalled a resolution by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) that “obliges the State of Chile to redouble its efforts to clarify what happened,” emphasizing that its ongoing monitoring and evaluation will verify those efforts include “ensuring due process and an exhaustive investigation of all hypotheses, without any bias.”

Ayer martes 30 de septiembre, el director del INDH recibió a las abogadas Karina Riquelme y Mariela Santana, junto a Pablo San Martín Chuñil, hijo de Julia Chuñil. En la reunión, las abogadas plantearon su preocupación por una serie de situaciones procesales. Además, dieron…

— INDH Chile (@inddhh) October 1, 2025

INDH to include the phone recording: Why it matters for the investigation

The decision by the INDH to incorporate the phone recording into its oversight marks a significant institutional step, formally recognizing a relevant lead within the case-tracking framework. In practice, it signals that the Institute will collect, organize, and verify whether the Public Prosecutor’s Office and police pursue every possible line of inquiry and avoid dismissing scenarios due to bias or outside pressure.

The INDH’s emphasis on due process and thoroughness is pivotal. Inter-American standards require investigators to avoid narrowing the probe to a single hypothesis, maintain coherence across investigative lines, and handle any potential evidence or recordings within legal parameters that safeguard their validity and admissibility in court.

What the family says: the statement and the recording

The day before, Julia Chuñil’s family released a statement confirming the existence of an authorized phone interception and attributing to the primary suspect, Juan Carlos Morstadt Anwandter, a remark that “may have revealed her fate.” According to the family, in that call Morstadt told a relative that Julia Chuñil “was burned.”

The family urged the public to show respect and support, thanked those who aided the search, and called for demonstrations to “demand that this person say where she is.” They also asked that the investigation continue and that the suspect “be investigated” and “return Julia Chuñil Catricura to us.”

INDH’s approach: IACHR, due process, and “all hypotheses”

The institutional statement underscores three immediate obligations:

1. Comply with the IACHR resolution: redouble efforts to clarify what happened.
2. Guarantee due process: prevent procedural violations that could weaken the case.
3. “Exhaustive investigation of all hypotheses, without any bias”: conduct a broad, impartial inquiry that incorporates all relevant information—such as the phone recording—and cross-checks each lead through forensic analysis and procedural steps that establish a robust evidentiary basis.

Integrating the phone recording into INDH monitoring aligns with that roadmap: it places the information under civic and institutional oversight, lowers the risk of omitting crucial steps, and advances a comprehensive state response.

Gender perspective and protection of victims

The Julia Chuñil case requires a gender-sensitive approach: avoid revictimization, safeguard her family, and ensure media coverage does not trivialize the facts or expose sensitive data. In that context, the mobilizations mentioned by the family and calls to demand truth and justice are part of the right to protest and families’ search for answers, always within the law.

What’s next

• Prosecutors and police should deepen investigative lines, formally incorporating the phone recording alongside other actions.
• The INDH is expected to continue monitoring state compliance under the IACHR mandate, including updates on due process and thoroughness.
• The family has requested privacy, respect, and cooperation: any advances must uphold Julia Chuñil’s dignity and protect her loved ones.