By Jhonny Gonzalez
Venezuela - It's been several days since the suicide of boxer Edwin Valero and the entire country of Venezuela is still in a state of shock. Valero, very drunk and high on drugs, murdered his wife Jennifer Carolina in a hotel room in the city of Valencia last Sunday. Valero was arrested and taken to a police station in Carabobo, where he took his life in the early hours on Monday. Valero used his pants to hang himself in his jail cell.
Several things have been revealed since the death. The toxicology results have been made public, revealing heavy traces of cocaine in Valero's system. It was also said by a source close to the investigation by the CICPC (Office of Scientific, Penal and Criminal Investigations), that a photo of Valero's family was discovered in the boxer's mouth after he took his life.
The psychiatrist who treated the San Juan de Dios Hospital of Merida is taking a lot of blame from Valero supporters and family members. She recently issued a report that stated Valero had "completely lost control of his life due to his strong addictions" to alcohol and drugs. But the psychiatrist did nothing to keep Valero detained for further rehabilitation and allowed him to leave the facility after a few days. He was ordered to go there to be mentally evaluated in the wake of being arrested last month for allegedly beating his wife.
Valero's brother Edward said the fighter was driven crazy by the drugs. Edward says the drugs made Valero hallucinate and he thought everyone was trying to hurt him, even his own family. The hallucinations ring a bell. During his interrogation by the Carabobo police, Valero claimed that he was being followed by underworld thugs, and he drove to the hotel in Valencia to get away. He claimed those same thugs had killed his wife. Police believe Valero was going through hallucinations and paranoia in the hours leading up to his wife's murder.
The drugs made Valero hallucinate situations that made him become obsessive with his wife, says Edward. Valero had accused Edward, and their brother Luis, of having affairs with his wife.
"When Edwin came from Mexico after his last fight, he went crazy. He was drinking and acting strange and wanted to fight with everybody. Cocaine makes you paranoid. Once I went up to the house and his wife was excited to see me and he got mad. He had to be calmed down. His obsession with Jennifer was so strong that it bothered him even when his father or brother would give her a kiss. He would say that Jennifer was his, that she belonged to him. Edwin was a great person, but the drugs drove him crazy, made him see strange things. He always believed people wanted to hurt him," Edward said.
Valero always spoke to his brother Edward about his one dream in boxing, to fight Manny Pacquiao. Valero signed a promotional deal with Top Rank for one reason, to work his way to a fight with Pacquiao, who was the star fighter in their company. He was very sure he would get a shot at Pacquiao in November.
"He always talked about fighting Pacquiao and how he would hit him with punches. He though the fight would happen in November. He would tell me that he knew exactly how to catch Pacquiao with his punches. He would show me the movements of how he would step back and around and throw the punches. It meant a lot to him," Edward said.
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