The Tico Times Online Daily Page

Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, June 20, 2003

INVESTIGATIVE HELP: KBI arriving in Golfito to help in 2-year-old Martin murder probe.
TT/Tim Rogers

KBI to Join Martin Murder Probe
More than two years after the brutal stabbing death of University of Kansas student Shannon Martin, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is sending its head investigator to the southern Pacific town of Golfito this weekend to assist in the murder probe.
(Click for more)

Authorities Issue 'Green Alert'
as Rains Continue
Emergency crews are on standby as yet another storm front is expected to unload an above-average amount of rainfall across the nation early this morning, state meteorologists said yesterday.
(Click for more)

C.A. Presidential Summit
Scheduled with Aznar
SAN SALVADOR (AFP) - The Presidents of Central America and Panama will meet with Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar July 8 and 9 in San Salvador, according to government sources.
(Click for more)

June 20

Tiquisia, I Love You and Will Always Love You
Editus, Ray Tico, Arnoldo Castillo and Marcela Ugalde tonight will perform the show "Tiquisia te quiero y te querré," at 9 p.m. at the Costa Rica Country Club in Escazú. Info: 234-0491, 289-9801.

International Music Day
Parade on Av. Ctrl. through Parque España with the Castella Conservatory Band, also concerts by national artists, bands, orquestras, etc, special music instruments exhibit and sale, talks, workshops, and more, June 21-22, 9 a.m., Parque España, and Parque Morazán. Also, music with exhibit and sale of CD, instruments, books, conferences, forums, at CENAC, Av. 3, Ca. 15. Info: 233-1967.

Green Fair
Environmental Fair with exhibit and sale of orchids, bonsai trees, all kind of flowers, honey products, soap, shampoo, seeds and more, Fri.-Sun., June 20-22, Mall Internacional, Alajuela. Info: 283-0446.

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KBI to Join Martin Murder Probe
By Tim Rogers
trogers@ticotimes.net

More than two years after the brutal stabbing death of University of Kansas student Shannon Martin, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is sending its head investigator to the southern Pacific town of Golfito this weekend to assist in the murder probe.

At the request of Martin's mother Jeanette Stauffer -- recently allowed formal participation in the legal proceedings -- KBI investigator Larry Thomas will be in Golfito Monday morning with a translator to meet with Costa Rican investigators and Juan Carlos Arce, the lawyer representing the victim's family (TT, June 13).

Thomas, a graduate of the FBI National Academy, told The Tico Times in a phone interview yesterday that he has 26 years experience investigating homicides and currently heads the KBI's "Cold Case Unit" -- the investigative body that handles unsolved murders.

The KBI veteran said he has spent the last couple of days reviewing the case file and is impressed with the forensic autopsy report, but added that it is still too early to comment on the quality of the rest of the investigation efforts by the Costa Rican authorities.

"In a cold case, many people think we are looking for mistakes or failures in the investigation, but we are really looking for new ways of using the information collected and putting it together with new leads to help the prosecutors," Thomas explained.

Thomas, who said he expects to be in Golfito all next week, said the success of the investigation will depend on the information collected and the Costa Rican authorities' willingness to cooperate. He stressed that the KBI has no jurisdiction in Costa Rica, and that his role here will be limited to making suggestions and offering advice.

Thomas insists that the amount of time that passed since Martin's May 13, 2001 murder is not a problem. He claims his unit has successfully solved three cases that were 25 - 30 years cold.

Stauffer, meanwhile, is still hopeful that the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) will also send an investigator to Costa Rica, as earlier promised (TT, June 13).

Martin, a KU senior scheduled to graduate with honors, was attacked and killed by multiple assailants, according to investigators and forensic analysis. Her body was found in the early morning hours of May 13, 2001 next to Golfito's abandoned airplane hanger, 30 meters from her host family's home (TT, May 18, 2001).

Three Costa Rica suspects have been charged with murder, but Arce said he thinks more assailants were involved (TT, June 13).

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Authorities Issue 'Green Alert' as Rains Continue
By David Boddiger
dboddiger@ticotimes.net

BAD MEMORIES: Heavy rains bring back bad memories in Orosi, where residents were hit with landslide last Sept.
AFP/TT

Emergency crews are on standby as yet another storm front is expected to unload an above-average amount of rainfall across the nation early this morning, state meteorologists said yesterday.

National Emergency Commission (CNE) officials moved the nation's warning level to "green," the lowest of three color codes designed to urge Costa Ricans in danger spots to prepare for flash flooding or landslides.

"We are asking everyone to stay alert and calling on residents in high-risk zones to temporarily relocate to safer areas," CNE spokeswoman Rebecca Madrigal said.

On Wednesday, flash flooding caused by heavy rainfall in the eastern Central Valley province of Cartago interrupted traffic for hours. A landslide in Jucó, Orosí destroyed two small vacation homes and forced the temporary evacuation of 48 residents. No injuries were reported.

But earth continued to move throughout the day yesterday, and emergency officials warned that continued rainfall could provoke additional slides. Residents in this small agricultural hamlet of fewer than 5,000 are still jittery from a massive slide last September that buried 13 houses and disappeared seven people (TT, Sept. 6, 2002).

Flooding was caused mostly by the swelling Toyogres and Tara de Cartago rivers, and affected some 11 communities in Cartago. Smaller landslides blocked roads in San Rafael de Oreamuno and Alto Chinchilla, forcing 20 people to seek temporary shelter in the capital.

Flooding also swept the San José communities of Desamparados and Curridabat, as well as Siquirres on the Atlantic plains, and the Pacific port town of Puntarenas, Madrigal said.

According to meteorologist Norman Vega, of the National Meteorologist Institute (IMN), Wednesday's storm was caused by an abnormal low-pressure front that swept from Guapiles in the east, through the Northern Zone to the Pacific coast.

The front causes very unstable weather patterns, including higher-than-usual rainfall. Vega said another such front could be expected "at any time" between late yesterday and today, causing heavy rainfall across the nation.

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C.A. Presidential Summit Scheduled with Aznar

SAN SALVADOR (AFP) - The Presidents of Central America and Panama will meet with Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar July 8 and 9 in San Salvador, according to government sources.

"The meeting will be held to thank Spain for supporting Central America in the European Union and to discuss admitting Spain into the Central American Bank of Economic Integration (BCIE)," said César Martínez, of Salvador's Foreign Ministry.

The heads of state also will discuss the possibility of reaching an economic accord between the European Union and Central America, Martínez said.

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