The Tico Times Online Daily Page

Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, December 03, 2002

STILL NO JUSTICE: Cross in remembrance of slain U.S. student Shannon Martin.
TT/Tim Rogers

Shannon Martin Murder Suspects Paroled
By Tim Rogers
After spending nearly five months in jail, two Costa Rican men arrested last July for their alleged involvement in the May 2001 stabbing death of U.S. student Shannon Martin were granted conditional freedom Friday afternoon, according Sandra Castro, spokeswoman for the state prosecutor's office.
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Pacheco Orders Government
Institutions to Help Flood Victims
In the wake of last weekend's devastating floods which left more than 5,500 Caribbean residents in shelters, destroyed highways, bridges and infrastructure and left at least two dead, President Abel Pacheco yesterday traveled to southern Limón to witness the disaster and sign a decree ordering all government ministries and institutions to help in the recovery process.
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December 03

Lightening of the Children’s Museum
Traditional food, music, firecrackers, and Christmas Carols. At 5:50 p.m., Children’s Museum, west end Ca. 4, 258-4929.

Paper Money and Coins Exchange
All weekends in December, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., at Real Cariari Mall, 3rd Floor. Info: 239-4717, 383-6388, www.mipyme.com/micrositios/reliquias2000/

Newcomers’ Meeting
December Holiday Gathering, Yuletide Punch and Holiday Treats, at 9:30 a.m., Rosemary Rein’s Home, Barrio El Carmen, Escazú. Info: 228-7359.

Christmas Folklore Night
At 7 p.m., Melico Salazar Theater, Av. 2, Ca. Ctrl.-1. Info: 240-9015.

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Shannon Martin Murder Suspects Paroled
By Tim Rogers
trogers@ticotimes.net

After spending nearly five months in jail, two Costa Rican men arrested last July for their alleged involvement in the May 2001 stabbing death of U.S. student Shannon Martin were granted conditional freedom Friday afternoon, according Sandra Castro, spokeswoman for the state prosecutor's office.

Alberto Castro, 38, and Rafael Zumbado, 47 -- better known by the street names "El Caballo" and "Coco" -- were detained July 14 in the southern Pacific port town of Golfito, where Martin was killed. Immediately following their arrest, Golfito Prosecutor Eric Martínez told The Tico Times: "These two were always suspects, but we didn't have the testimony we needed to arrest them until this week" (TT, July 19).

The four-month preventive prison sentences for Castro and Zumbado reportedly were ordered based on the testimony of incarcerated murder suspect Katia Venessa Cruz, a 27-year-old Tica arrested last year for her alleged involvement in the Martin killing. Cruz -- a vagabond with a history of drug abuse -- allegedly once was romantically involved with Caballo.

Last week, Martínez reportedly asked the judge for an extension of the preventive prison sentences for the two male suspects, but his request was denied.

According to Sandra Castro, the two men are still considered suspects, but are not considered dangerous and are not believed to be a flight risk. As the terms of the parole, Alberto Castro must check in every 15 days with judicial authorities at the Rural Guard in Alajuela de Desamparados, while Zumbado must check in twice a month at the Justice Tribunal in Golfito.

If either man fails to check in, they will be arrested and sent back to jail, according to the state prosecutor's office.

Both suspects have a history of drug abuse and small time robberies, according to authorities. Tico Times interviews with Golfito residents showed various attitudes toward Castro, while very few people appeared to know anything about Zumbado.

Described by some residents as "a person who is capable of anything," one local woman who claimed to know Alberto Castro well said he had no history of violence and alleged he was being framed because of his history as a social misfit.

Martin, a 23-year-old biology student, was visiting Golfito in May 2001 to collect fern samples as follow-up to a research project on photosynthesis, which she had started here while participating in the University of Kansas' spring 2000 study abroad program.

She was stabbed 15 times in the early morning hours of May 13 along an airport access road, 30 meters from her host family's home, and 250 meters from the Jurassic Bar, where she had been dancing shortly before being killed.

Martin's mother, Jeanette Stauffer, reacted to the news of the suspects' parole with confusion: "My daughter lost her life; she lost the opportunity to be with family and friends; she lost the opportunity to continue making a difference in the world. Yet, all but one of the assailants are walking around and acting as if nothing happened," she told The Tico Times yesterday.

No date has been set for the murder trial.

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Pacheco Orders Government
Institutions to Help Flood Victims

Pacheco (center) promises government help to flood victims.
Photo/ Casa Presidencial

In the wake of last weekend's devastating floods which left more than 5,500 Caribbean residents in shelters, destroyed highways, bridges and infrastructure and left at least two dead, President Abel Pacheco yesterday traveled to southern Limón to witness the disaster and sign a decree ordering all government ministries and institutions to help in the recovery process.

"This is a new type of Executive Decree because it obliges (not asks) all institutions to give resources," Pacheco announced, adding that past decrees have not been as effective as intended because government ministries and institutions often cry poor when asked to help.

The National Emergency Commission (CNE) also worked yesterday to deliver food and drinking water to the mostly indigenous southern Caribbean communities of Sixaola and Bríbrí, which were cut off from the rest of the country by swollen rivers and damaged highways.

Using government helicopters, CNE workers airlifted supplies to the isolated communities, while others worked to repair the road to Sixaola and Bríbrí. By the end of the day, the CNE announced that one lane had been opened to four-wheel-drive vehicles.

Weather conditions in southern Limón reportedly improved dramatically yesterday afternoon, but the Emergency Commission is keeping the area on "Red Alert" (TT Daily Page, Dec. 2).

According to the Commission, 5,530 people are staying in 38 different shelters, the majority of which are located in Valle de la Estrella in southern Limón.

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Pacheco's Son Receives Death Threats

Environmental group Oilwatch yesterday denounced alleged death threats made against Fabián Pacheco, organization member and son of President Abel Pacheco, and local environmentalist Eladio Chinchilla, according to Costa Rica Oilwatch coordinator Mauricio Alvarez.

Fabián Pacheco and Chinchilla reportedly were threatened for investigating "irregularities" in a logging company planning to extract lumber from a forested area in the Caribbean province of Limón.

Alvarez said Chinchilla reportedly was approached several days ago by an unidentified armed man, who warned him he would get into "trouble" if he tried to interfere with the logging company's plans. The man also reportedly warned that he was going to kill the President's son when he returned from California.

Noting that six outspoken environmentalists in Costa Rica have died amidst mysterious circumstances in the last 10 years, Alvarez said Oilwatch is taking the threats very seriously and would take appropriate legal and security measures to protect Pacheco and Chinchilla.
-AFP

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