The Prosecutor's Office against Drug Trafficking and Related Offenses confirmed that the Criminal Court of Pavas* imposed three months of pre-trial prison against the three males suspected in the murder of U.S. citizen Michael Chaim Caspi on March 23, 2017. The Costa Rican suspects are surnamed Alfaro-Conde, Rodríguez-Retana and Guerrero-Corrales.

Last week, agents of the Judicial Investigation Organization, along with agents of the Deputy Prosecutor's Office, made home raids, arresting Alfaro-Conde in Santa Ana*, and the other two men, Rodríguez-Retana and Guerrero-Corrales, in Alajuelita*. 

Agents confiscated cell phones and computers at those homes as evidence in the case.

The investigation reports that Mr. Caspi, 48, was born in Israel and was a naturalized U.S. citizen. He was an entrepreneur who came to the country for short periods and maintained important real estate investments in the Central Pacific area of the country. He had a friendship and a trusting relationship with suspect Alfaro-Conde who was his lawyer and the person who had access to confidential information about the victim's business activities.

According to the Prosecutor's investigation statement "Alfaro apparently used his close relationship with the victim to discover that Caspi would be carrying $9,000 in cash on the day of the assault"

The Prosecutor's file also said that under the leadership of lawyer Alfaro-Conde, the other suspects Rodríguez-Retana and Guerrero-Corrales intercepted the victim when he left home in Sabana Sur* at around 5:30 a.m. They stole the money and shot the victim four times in the torso and the head, causing his death.

The investigation into this case is ongoing.

Another recent case on attack on a foreigner, reported in A.M. Costa Rica,  was the murder of U.S. citizen Carla Stefaniack who was killed in Nov. 28th. Her body was found on December 3 in a wooded area near the hotel in Escazu* where she had been staying.

The man suspected of the crime is a Nicaraguan surnamed Espinoza-Martínez who was the security guard at the hotel. He is in six months of pre-trial detention. According to the prosecution’s thesis, the motive for the murder was a sexual attack.

Last week, the  file  of evidence was opened in the Pavas* Criminal Court in the presence of the victim's family's lawyers Jose Rivera and David Hernández. Also attending were specialists in Computer Forensics and the suspect of the crime.

After attending the opening of the case, attorney David Hernandez said that the evidence included the suspect's cell phone where lawyers will have access to see a file of "photos, recorded messages, written messages and videos."

According to the declaration of the only suspect, Espinoza-Martínez, the hotel where Ms Stefaniak stayed was a clandestine meeting place for guests who wanted to use drugs and perform sexual acts.

The suspect said that he had worked for what he called “a clandestine hotel” where he had observed “deplorable sexual acts and drug use.” He said  that he was told to “keep quiet” about what he saw. “I just watched and kept quiet, even the owners felt the smell of marijuana or any drug, or the immoral acts of the guests in each apartment and it was normal for them (referring to the owners of the hotel)".

In his defense, Espinoza-Martínez said that it was physically impossible for him to have killed the victim and then taken the body to where she was buried.

"I reiterate that I never had any sexual contact with the girl nor did I ever have any intention of sexually assaulting or raping her. The day the offended woman entered at the apartments, I saw that she arrived and that the other hotel staffer received her. The offended is a little taller than me, her weight calculated that about 90 kilos, at first glance she looked big, obviously with those characteristics it is impossible for me to have dragged her to another place. To me it seems that they were other people, for my physic is not possible that I did it. It seems to me that other people participated, because of the cuts and other wounds appear on her body,” he said.

The attorneys for the victim's family will make an analysis of the evidence that was collected by the judicial agents as provided for by standard procedure.

The latest information given by the Judicial Investigation Organization about Ms. Stefaniak’s case was in December 2018, when the agents asked for the collaboration of citizens in finding a suitcase that belonged to the victim.

Investigators report that on Wednesday, December 5, a person who manages the property located "several pieces of clothing" near the Villa found and called the police.