40 damage, searing and long-lasting grief.”171 She added that “she feels helpless and constantly stressed out when visit[ing] her family in Honduras” and that she “[is] disappointed at the incompetence displayed by the authorities in a murder case that has received national and international attention.” Currently, Selsa Damaris Watt-Kawas is living in Germany and is afraid of returning to Honduras.172 134. Mr. Jaime Alejandro Watt-Kawas, son of Blanca Jeannette Kawas-Fernández, stated that he “always had a very close relationship” with his mother “and [that] she thoroughly fulfilled her role as mother.” Furthermore, he added that, when she died, he suffered from “feelings of loneliness and abandonment[,] feeling unprotected without the only person who was so close to him” and, therefore, he needed the support of his family to “cope with the overwhelming grief that [he] experienced [...].” Mr. Watt-Kawas stated that his life “underwent a radical, negative, frustrating change, imbued with emotional instability and deep sadness that led [him] to distrust everything and everyone” and that he “feels a sense of impotence and frustration in the face of the absence of competent authorities to determine what happened and why it happened.”173 At the time Blanca Jeannette-Kawas was deprived of her life, her son was seventeen years old.174 135. In addition, the representatives have requested the Court to declare the violation of Article 5 of the American Convention to the detriment of the siblings of Blanca Jeannette Kawas-Fernández: Jacobo Roberto;175 Jorge Jesús,176 and Carmen Marilena.177 The Court points out that, in accordance with its case law (supra para. 128), the foregoing persons are not considered to be direct next of kin. Therefore, the Court must examine the evidence presented by the representatives to that effect. 136. During the public hearing (supra para. 10), Mr. Jacobo Roberto Kawas-Fernández stated that he arrived at the house of his sister, Blanca Jeannette Kawas-Fernández, a few minutes after she died. He said that he saw her “lying on the floor [and that] he tried to pick her up [and] carry her.” As evidenced by the record, he subsequently “led” the investigations initiated by the authorities regarding her death.178 Mr. Kawas-Fernández pointed out that, as a result of the murder, “he no longer [has an] older sister who gave him all her support” and that “[his] life has changed in that he used to be engaged in other activities [and] had to [take over] the management of [his] father’s business,” formerly managed by Blanca Jeannette Kawas-Fernández. He mentioned that the possibility of 171 Cf. Statement rendered before a notary public (affidavit) by Selsa Damaris Watt-Kawas on October 28, 2008 (record on the Merits, volume II, folios 428 and 429). 172 Cf. Statement rendered before a notary public (affidavit) by Selsa Damaris Watt-Kawas on October 28, 2008, supra note 171. 173 Cf. Statement rendered before a notary public (affidavit) by Mr. Jaime Alejandro Watt-Kawas on November 4, 2008, supra note 166. 174 Cf. Birth certificate of Jaime Alejandro Watt-Kawas, supra note 147; and statement rendered before a notary public (affidavit) by Jorge Jesús Kawas-Fernández on October 30, 2008, supra note 168. 175 Cf. Birth certificate of Jacobo Kawas-Fernández, supra note 150. 176 Cf. Birth certificate of Jorge Jesús Kawas-Fernández, supra note 151. 177 Cf. Birth certificate of Carmen Marilena Kawas-Fernández, supra note 149. 178 Cf. Statement rendered before a notary public (affidavit) by Mr. Jorge Jesús Kawas-Fernández on October 30, 2008, supra note 168.