Medellin, Colombia – The family of Kelly Knight, a US citizen who was found dead in Medellín in 2019, said the following in response to a complaint filed with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) earlier this month: Latin America Report The complaint describes the daughter’s “impunity for alleged femicide” by the “Colombian state.”
On July 19, 2019, 34-year-old Knight was found dead in his apartment in Medellín. According to the complaint, Knight is alleged to have been the victim of an ongoing pattern of spousal abuse since she married an unnamed man in 2018, including an episode the night before her death.
Lawyers representing the family said she and her husband were staying at a hotel in the town of Doradal, a few hours from Medellin, on July 18 when hotel staff “heard screams and called the police.” The complaint says police were “unresponsive” and later “according to a transcript of the conversation between the victim and her friend, Knight was dragged onto the asphalt by her husband.”
Authorities found her dead in her Medellin apartment the next day – “under circumstances that remain unclear at this time” – and the complaint alleges that a preliminary investigation into alleged femicide was launched in 2019, but the case has since “stalled” with no formal charges or arrests.
Unresolved warning signs
The families accused Colombia of failing to “prevent, investigate and establish accountability for alleged femicide.” Family members also consider Knight’s husband to be a prime suspect.
“She was on the verge of leaving when she was murdered. Very close. We found a letter in the trash can of her apartment that said exactly that (to her husband). And I don’t know if he balled it up and threw it away. I’m not completely sure. We found it in the trash can and turned it over to investigators,” said her father, Ray Knight. Latin America Report.
He added, “Every time something happened, he told us.” “She wanted to come home several times.”
Lawyers for Knight’s family say that despite the severity of the reported incidents of abuse, Colombian authorities failed to provide “protective measures, psychosocial support, appropriate threat assessments, or timely investigations of these incidents until her death.”
“There were various signs that gave the authorities an idea of what was happening,” said Ignacio Javier Álvarez Martínez, managing director of IHR LEGAL, the law firm representing the family. Latin America Report. “They could have done something about this, but they didn’t.”
messy crime scene
By the time authorities began investigating Knight’s death, key elements of the crime scene had already been damaged, the family’s attorney said.
Mariana Hernández, another lawyer for the family, said Kelly’s body was moved but no video was taken of the crime scene. Latin America Report.
He added, “The blanket was damaged, and the clothes were returned to the main person (husband).”
Her family also described witnessing a chaotic and unprofessional crime scene inside the apartment.
“They failed to cordon off the area. It was full of people while the authorities were inside,” said her mother, Lee Knight. Latin America Report.
Some of the most important forensic evidence was also damaged, they said.
“They mishandled important blood samples,” Álvarez said, noting that the limited amount collected was used in a way that prevented further testing abroad.
“(Her husband) told us he threw away the bedding,” Knight’s father said. “They said it was dirty.”
My family also said Latin America Report It is said that a representative of the legal team who was trying to retrieve Knight’s belongings after the murder got into a violent confrontation with Knight’s husband. No charges have been filed in the case, they said.
Lawyers for the family argue that alleged failures at the crime scene undermined the investigation and may have permanently damaged their ability to determine what happened to Knight.
Latin America Report We reached out to the prosecutor’s office and the Medellin mayor’s office for comment on the case, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
IHR Legal, the law firm representing the family, said Colombia had not issued an official response on compliance because the IACHR had not yet formally submitted a complaint to the country. This process may take several months.
Knight’s parents also lamented being cut off from information surrounding the investigation into their daughter’s death.
“We have had no direct communication with the prosecutor or coroner,” her father said. “We didn’t negotiate anything.”
Knight’s mother said authorities told her they could not share the results of their investigation into the case.
“They told us they couldn’t report anything,” she said. “We were parents. We just wanted to know what happened to our daughter.”
femicide in colombia
Kelly Knight’s case is not an isolated incident. Several gender-based killings across Colombia in recent months have highlighted persistent gaps in prevention and accountability, with advocates warning that impunity remains a defining feature of many investigations.
In the first three months of 2025 alone, more than 5,300 women reported being victims of violence within the family and more than 3,800 women reported being victims of sexual violence, most of whom were children or adolescents.
A 2024 study by Colombia’s National Institute of Forensics and Forensics found that gender discrimination and violence against women are fueled by Colombia’s persistently patriarchal society. In this society, women are positioned as ‘self-sacrificing mothers’ or ‘submissive wives’, while men are placed in positions of dominance and power.
Moreover, the study also showed that the hypersexualization of women, the glorification of ‘strong’ and ‘dominant’ men, and narratives of traditional gender roles reinforce patterns that are replicated in society.
In Kelly Knight’s case, lawyers argue that her husband’s testimony was prioritized over that of the victim’s family.
“His story is repeated several times in the case file,” Hernández said.
The husband’s version of events included claims that Knight struggled with substance abuse and instability, according to the attorney, who said her claims were not supported by the evidence.
“He said she was ‘crazy’ or a ‘drug addict,’ but there is no evidence for that,” Hernández added.
Nonetheless, authorities relied heavily on his account in building their case because he was a key witness, but ignored the woman’s family’s side of the story, the attorneys claim.
“They did an investigation based on what he said,” she said. “Both police and prosecutors lack a gender perspective.”
What’s next for the Knight family?
Six years later, dissatisfied with the way the investigation was progressing in Colombia, the Knight family filed a formal complaint with the IACHR on March 2, 2026.
Under international law, victims are generally required to exhaust domestic legal remedies before seeking redress from international judicial institutions. However, exceptions apply if the investigation is delayed for a long time or fails to make meaningful progress.
“There is no need to wait after a reasonable period of time without meaningful progress,” said Álvarez, the lawyer.
The commission must now decide whether to recognize the case and formally notify the state of Colombia, which will then have the opportunity to respond.
“Part of filing a lawsuit is to put pressure on the state to do something about this,” Alvarez said, adding, “This process could lead to local authorities investigating.”
He said the implications could be broader beyond individual cases. “This case could become a paradigm for Colombia and the region.”
But for Knight’s parents, the goal remains the same.
“We will do everything possible to find out what happened,” her father said. “We will get to the bottom of this if possible.”
Featured image: Kelly Knight.
Image source: Online obituary of Kelly Knight
