A 78-year-old retired soldier and pensioner who was handcuffed, beaten and raped by a 34-year-old man has died of a gastrointestinal haemorrhage.

Jose Gosen, 78, was allegedly assaulted by Juan Eduardo Diaz, 34, in the city of San Nicolas de los Arroyos, in the province of Buenos Aires, in Argentina, on 19th December.

Police found Gosen dead in the bathroom of his house, handcuffed and with signs of sexual assault.

Since then, prosecutor Maria Belen Banos has led an investigation to find the attackers, and this week, she announced that the authorities had a suspect in custody – a man who is said to have been well known to the victim.

Juan Eduardo Diaz was arrested on Monday 10th January on suspicion of having carried out the deadly attack on the retired soldier.

The man is a native of San Nicolas de los Arroyos, worked as an employee in the city, and lived 10 blocks from the victim’s home.

The police carried out the arrest after monitoring the victim’s mobile phone, which had been stolen during the incident, along with keys to the property and a weapon that the retired soldier had registered in his name from his military days.

According to the autopsy report, the retiree died of a gastrointestinal haemorrhage, after a rape.

The suspect was charged with ‘sexual abuse followed by death with aggravated robbery’ and will remain in custody in San Nicolas until he is transferred to a prison unit of the Buenos Aires Penitentiary Service.