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![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() After an extensive search, aided by canine units, investigators found Centeno’s body. Photo via Judicial Investigation Organization.
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Published on
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The
Criminal Court of San
Ramon Canton, in
Alajuela Province, has ordered one year of
preventive detention for a U.S. citizen,
identified by the last name Moriondo, 60,
as the sole suspect in the femicide of his
wife, Costa Rican citizen Centeno-Murillo,
20, the Prosecutor’s Office announced.
Authorities
launched an investigation into Moriondo on
Jan. 23 after Centeno’s mother filed a
missing person report, saying she had lost
contact with her daughter on Jan. 22.
According
to investigators, Centeno’s family visited
the home she shared with Moriondo in the Santiago
District of
San Ramón Canton. Moriondo was reportedly
alone at the house and claimed he did not
know his wife’s whereabouts.
That
same day, police arrested Moriondo on
suspicion of his wife’s disappearance and
murder.
On Jan. 24, one day after Moriondo’s arrest, the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ) reported that Centeno’s body had been discovered inside a plastic bag.
After
an extensive search, aided by canine
units, investigators found Centeno’s
remains just hours before the 24-hour
legal detention limit for the suspect
expired.
The
body had allegedly been
dumped in
a wooded area near the La
Granja community in
Palmares Canton, Alajuela Province.
Randall
Zúńiga López, director of the OIJ,
confirmed that Centeno’s body had been
found and
that the case was being
investigated as
a possible femicide.
The
investigation remains ongoing, and
authorities have kept case details
confidential.
Only the victim’s family members are
authorized to request further information.
OIJ
is urging the public to report any
suspicions of violence against women.
Tips can be
submitted
confidentially by calling the ten-digit
hotline 800-8000-645 or the fast line
11-76, where bilingual agents can assist
in English or Spanish.
The Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ), a division of Costa Rica’s Supreme Court of Justice, conducts criminal investigations. Officers in this operational unit have nationwide police authority.
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