QCOSTARICA (HQ) – An American was killed and his female friend was injured when, apparently, the woman’s ex-husband or ex-boyfriend attacked them. The event occurred in Herradura de Puntarenas, at around 7 am, Friday, May 14, 2021.
As reported by the OIJ through its press office, the American, identified as Domenic Paldino, 57, was visiting a female friend, a 35-year-old woman named Ruiz.
Apparently, the woman’s ex, identified by his last names Acuña Centeno, 40, was stalking the house and managed to get in when Paldino left to run an errand, shooting Ruiz three times, wounding her in the arm, then grabbed a knife and they began to struggle.
At that moment, Paldino returned and asked what was happening, so Acuña allegedly grabbed the gun and shot him several times.
Paldino managed to get out and take refuge behind a car. According to the OIJ, the suspect went out to look for him, but could not find him and went back into the house.
The neighbors had already alerted the police so a patrol arrived at the site when the suspect was arrested leaving the house.
The police officers found Paldino lying outside a garage, paramedics called to the scene confirmed that he was already deceased.
The woman was taken to the Monseñor Sanabria Hospital in Puntarenas in stable condition.
Who was Dominic Paldino
According to the Telegram & Gazette – www.telegram.com – Paldino was a successful businessman in Worcester, MA, who got great satisfaction from sharing his wealth and his smile.
“His main thing was giving back to people who weren’t as fortunate as he was,” said Mark Paldino, Domenic’s brother.
In early December 2017, Domenic Paldino gave away $5,000 — 50 $100 bills — to holiday shoppers in Worcester. Such generosity was known to family and friends — yet it became the talk of the city after his distribution of the C-notes was documented by Telegram & Gazette columnist Dianne Williamson.
He stood outside Walmart. Williamson wrote: “Initially, Paldino planned to hand out bills to passing cars at Kelley Square, where he owned The Check Depot for 12 years. After some thought, however, he determined the effort could cause traffic problems, and he’d be giving out money to people who didn’t necessarily need it. So he settled on Walmart and we decided to give out the bills as people left the store, thus decreasing the chance of a mob scene.”
That same December, Paldino stopped at the Toys R Us in Auburn and paid thousands in customer layaways. He knew that it would make many people smile, even if they didn’t know the guy who paid the bill.
On that fateful Friday, Domenic tried to intervene, to help the woman, but he became the focus of the attack.
