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Published Wednesday, March 4,
2020 / 12:10 p.m.
Breaking:
Jailed gang members linkedto U.S. citizen's murder By the A.M. Costa Rica staff Judicial agents of the Siquirres delegation in Limón Province have arrested 13 people, alleged members of a gang linked to the 2018 murder of a U.S. citizen identified as Thomas J. Cook. According to the agents' report, they conducted more than 20 raids in several communities in that province, and the effort continues. Those suspects detained this morning, are alleged members of a gang dedicated to the sale of drugs and linked to several area homicides, including that of Cook, said the judicial agents. The Cook investigation began on Oct. 1, 2018, after a body of a man was found buried and gagged in a mass grave in the Palmiras community in the area of Siquirres, also in Limón Province. After the forensics experts performed scientific tests, including DNA tests and checked dental records, they determined that the remains belonged to Cook. Cook was retiree, who had traveled to Costa Rica intending to reside in the Jacó area, agents said. According to the investigation, Cook had begun a romantic relationship with a woman from the area, surnamed Hurtado-Palma. It is precisely this woman, Hurtado-Palma, who was investigated, and the agents manage to determine that she also had a romantic relationship with a man surnamed named Campos-Baciana. Campos-Baciana allegedly is a member of a gang of at least 20 more people and also suspects of killing Cook, judicial agents said. During this morning, 13 people, men and women, linked to the gang have already been arrested. In addition, five boats, several firearms, cash and drugs have been seized, according to agents. These suspects were taken to the cells of the Public Ministry where they will be interrogated by the judicial agents, and after that, they will wait until a judge orders pre-trial measures against them. For this mega operation, the Judicial Investigation Organization mobilized more than 300 members, including police and judicial agents, in addition to 80 police vehicles. At the time of this report, the raids and arrests continue. A.M. Costa Rica will continue to report on these gang members and any links with Cook's murder. According to the judicial report Cook disappeared Aug. 23, 2018. He was last seen near Jacó beach on the Pacific Coast. Investigators responded to an emergency call on Oct. 1 of that year regarding a body that had been found half-buried on a large property in Siquirres, Limón, on the Atlantic Coast. According to the report of the Siquirres police office, "the body that was located on Oct. 1 in the sector of Palmiras. The body was in a state of putrefaction and buried in a paddock. The body belongs to a male, who was wearing a blue shirt, a gray color short, girdle gray tennis shoes, plus an earring and fabric bracelet with the colors blue, white and red." The girl friend Hurtado-Palma has a residence in the Limón area on the Atlantic Coast. In an interview when the investigation was launched she said on a local television channel that she had “nothing to do with the disappearance of Cook." She also confirmed that she "helped him find a house in a residential area in Jacó beach, where she signed as responsible for the rent, however, he (referring to Cook) was in charge of making the rent payments." Investigators found that the contract to rent the apartment where Cook lived was made in the name of Hurtado-Palma. There are several indications that the motive for the crime was theft, said investigators. They found several transactions in Cook's bank accounts and said they will continue to investigate that line of reasoning as a motive for the crime. ----------------------- Are foreigners an easy target for crooks in Costa Rica? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
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