This Tuesday, the defense for Jorge Ugalde will present a series of WhatsApp conversations to Santiago’s 4th Guarantee Court. The messages reportedly contradict testimony given by the victim's ex-wife, Carolina Grellet, regarding the triple homicide in La Reina.
Attorney Marcelo Castillo is seeking the release of his client, who has been in pretrial detention for six months at Santiago 1. The defense argues that the Eastern Metropolitan Prosecutor's Office has left several loose ends in the investigation into the murders of cameraman Eduardo Cruz-Coke and his two children.
The analyzed messages, which span from 2015 to 2025, reveal a strained and conflict-ridden relationship between Grellet and Cruz-Coke. This stands in stark contrast to the testimony Grellet provided to prosecutors on December 17, when she claimed their relationship was always characterized by "affection, love, and respect."
Financial Tensions and Family Disputes
The communications reveal recurring arguments over finances and disputes regarding the management of assets. In a dialogue from March 2019, Grellet accused Cruz-Coke of allowing family members to manipulate him to the detriment of his own children.
"What kind of father are you?" Grellet wrote in one of the messages, accusing the cameraman of hiding his inheritance to avoid increasing child support payments. Other parts of the conversation show disputes over unpaid notary fees and medical expenses.
In December 2018, Cruz-Coke raised the issue of outstanding debts, to which Grellet responded with accusations of fraud and legal threats: "Justice is slow, but it arrives."
The defense also highlighted that by 2024, the relationship showed signs of deep emotional exhaustion. In one message, Grellet wrote that she had not yet overcome "past traumas" and expressed profound sadness regarding the situation with her ex-husband.
Additionally, Ugalde's legal team focused on messages deleted by Grellet's brother on October 17 and 18, 2025—the dates the crime occurred. The defense maintains that they are not seeking to charge the ex-wife with a crime, but rather to demonstrate the inconsistencies within the current investigation.