Q COSTA RICA NEWS – The alleged responsible for the murder of a Dutch couple and a farm handler, in Puntarenas, their bodies discovered after the new year , are part of a group dedicated to robbery with extreme violence.
The Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) confirmed that the arrest of four on Wednesday are part of the group and two of them had taken part in the Puntarenas murder. A first suspect arrested days earlier was also involved. In total 11 people were arrested on Wednesday in a hit against this group who mainly ransacked farm homes in the province of Puntarenas.
See also: Dutch Couple Killed Called “Kind and Sweet”
Walter Espinoza, head of the Organismo de Investigacion Judicial (OIJ), explained that writing on the wall of the Dutch couple home proved key to identified the alleged killers, matched with writings found during a raid of the home of one of the alleged three killers, identified as Angulo (two brothers) and Bertarioni.
“On one of the walls was a writing that had alluded to what happened in the place. We compared it with writing from a door in a closet where we detained one of the Angulos. We compared them and it was positive,” said Espinoza.
Miguel Abarca, prosecutor, said “the organization was hitting violently rural communities. We have linked these people to 8 aggravated robberies, including one of attempted homicide.”
“They broke in tp middle and upper class homes (…),” Abarca added.
The Dutch couple and their farm foreman were on the afternoon of January 4, 2016 found dead in their house, a private estate in the district of Acapulco in Sardinal de Puntarenas. The couple, Hans Snelders and Sita Dhawtal, had been living in Costa Rica for the last 8 years.
The couple, along with their ranch foreman, were found dead, bound and shot. The bodies were discovered by a worker returning from his year-end holidays. See our report Dutch Couple Killed Called “Kind and Sweet”.
