MEDELLÍN, COLOMBIA — The parents of Kelly Knight submitted a request last week to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights seeking priority status to expedite review of their complaint over the stalled investigation into her suspected femicide in Medellín, Colombia. The complaint, filed in early March, alleges that Colombia failed to prevent, investigate and punish gender-based violence, violating Knight's right to access justice.

Knight was 34 years old when she was found lifeless by her husband in their shared apartment seven years ago. The autopsy documented bruises and multiple injuries on her body, and the cause of death was listed as "anoxia (lack of oxygen) under investigation." The case has been investigated as a suspected femicide and has remained stalled since 2019. No one has been detained or formally charged.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States. The request for priority status is intended to expedite the commission's decision on whether to formally process the complaint, and could reduce the waiting time for that initial step from one year to a few weeks.

"We had no satisfaction in Colombia. Nothing was done by the prosecutor's office, the medical examiner." Lee Goodpaster Knight said.

The family is represented by Ignacio Álvarez Martínez, a former IACHR Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression. According to the attorney, the case seeks to establish a precedent for Colombia to adopt a comprehensive state policy aimed at preventing femicides.

A prosecutor specializing in femicides is managing the case in Colombia, a spokesperson said, adding that police orders related to the case are currently being executed and that relevant information has been forwarded to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The case remains in the inquiry phase, the investigation's initial stage, the spokesperson said.

Between January and September 2025, 621 femicides were documented in Colombia, an average of two per day, according to the Colombian Femicide Observatory. In 2024, the observatory documented 872 femicides. A law criminalizing femicide in Colombia has been in effect for about a decade, with penalties of up to 50 years in prison. Susana Mejía, coordinator of the National Women's Network of Colombia, said there is a critical gap between gender-based violence legislation and its enforcement, and that the impunity rate for gender-based violence in Colombia is estimated to exceed 90%.

"You never get over it. You have to get through it, but you never get over it," Raymond Allen Knight said.