Murderer who spent 22 years hiding in jungle has now reappeared because…

A wife-killer escaped jail and spent 22 years in a jungle (Representational image)

A 70-year-old man has re-emerged from the rainforest where he spent the last 22 years in hiding after escaping jail. Ramón Ángel Abregú lived undetected in the Argentinian rainforest after breaking out of prison in 2001. He has now reappeared in Argentina after his crime’s statute of limitations ran out.

According to the Daily Mail, Abregú escaped from the jail in 2001 – just months after he was convicted and sentenced to 20 years for killing his wife. Local reports from the time suggest that the Argentinian attacked his wife, Eva Falcón, in their home. He shot her with a 9-millimeter caliber gun.

Falcón, seven months pregnant at the time, managed to escape her house and hid inside the guard room of a clinic, where Abregú tracked her down and killed her by firing four more shots. He was convicted of femicide and sentenced to 20 years in prison, but managed to escape after a few months by hiding in a truck headed for Chile.

The man spent more than two decades hiding in the jungle of Chaco Salteño, from where he emerged on Wednesday. He appeared in court to request the prescription of the case.

“The statute of limitations is 20 years, which is the time in which he managed to remain a fugitive living in hiding. He served his sentence that way,” his lawyer told the media.

He is currently detained in the Río Grande Detention Unit. It is not immediately clear whether he will be allowed to remain free.