Kimberly Jazmín Barrantes Pérez, 20 years of age, is the eight femicide this year, losing her life at the hands of her former partner.
According to the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ, in the attack that occurred Saturday night in Siquirres de Limón, a man identified by his last name Campos, around 12:45 am entered Kimberley’s home and shot her in the head. She died at the scene. Injured was her mother, who is recovering at the Hospital Calderón Guardia in San José.
The man is still at large.
According to the Civil Registry, Kimberley had two children, 1 and 2 years of age, both little girls fathered by the suspect.
This is the sixth femicide this month. The others are:
- On March 17 in La Union de Cartago, 18-year-old Grettel Tatiana Téllez Ortíz, who was pregnant, was gunned down in front of her 2-year-old daughter.
- On March 12 in Pavón de Golfito an individual killed Karen Vanessa Jiménez Arguedas. The suspect was arrested.
- On March 10 in Puerto Jiménez, Golfito, Rita Arias Piedra, 26, was attacked and killed with a metal pipe by her former partner.
- On March 6 in Liberia Guanacaste, Mariana Leiva Fernández died at the hands of her husband Sequeira, who then turned himself into the police.
- On March 3 in Florencia de San Carlos a day worker kills and throws into the river his pregnant companion, Maritza Vargas, 25 years old.
The number of femicides registered in the first months of this year is alarming when compared to the 16 cases for all of 2015. According to the OIJ, since 2010, there have been 224 femicides.
“There is a worrying increase. It is a crime that is generated in the most intimate of homes and is not easy to control. It is very worrying and will involve making decisions”, said the director of the OIJ, Wálter Espinoza, several days ago.
Authorities in Costa Rica define femicide as the murder of a woman by her partner – a spouse or ex-spouse or significant other.
