![]() Stay with ABC Action News for updates.Florida woman Carla Stefaniak, found murdered on Monday in Costa Rica, was apparently attacked and killed for sexual purposes, according to Costa Rican authorities. The Orlando Sentinel reports that Stefaniak, 36, spent the week in Costa Rica celebrating her birthday, but never boarded her flight back to Miami on November 28. Authorities said she was attacked before could make her flight, inside Apartment 8 at the Airbnb Villa La Mas, in San Antonio de Escazú. A security guard at the Airnbnb, 32-year-old Bismark Espinosa Martinez, who stayed in Apartment 7, was arrested Tuesday in connection with Carla’s murder.Īccording to the head of the Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Department, Walter Espinoza, the 36-year-old lost her life due to a possible sexual assault. Authorities found Carla partially nude, wrapped in a plastic bag and buried behind the Airbnb she stayed at. How do you protect your children from predators? Join Nancy Grace and a team of world-class experts for the online course ‘Justice Nation: Crime Stops Here’.Īgentes judiciales de la Sección Delitos Varios, en conjunto con el Ministerio Público, lograron la detención de un… Espinoza declined to elaborate on the details of the attack, but indicated the victim had been hit on the head and stabbed on the neck and arms. Posted by Organismo de Investigación Judicial on Tuesday, December 4, 2018Ī medical examiner reportedly wrote that Carla died from the neck wounds.Īuthorities also found evidence of a struggle inside Apartment 8, including blood and fluids that are currently being processed at a state lab. Investigators continue to look for evidence, including Carla’s luggage, which has yet to be found. “I guess that Carla fought,” the victim’s father, Carlos Caicedo Sr., told ABC Action News. “ cut the jugular and then the head after.”Ĭarla’s brother, Carlos Caicedo Jr., said that he spoke with Martinez when the family arrived in Costa Rica earlier this week to search for the victim. and Carla’s sister-in-law, April Burton, that he last saw Carla at 5 a.m. on November 28, leaving the Airbnb with her luggage. said. “I can’t believe it.”ĮXCLUSIVE | Family of missing tourist in Costa Rica confirm they've seen body and it is Carla This guy shook our hands, looked us in the eye and told us his fake story,” Caicedo Jr. #BREAKING | Tonight, I’m speaking exclusively with Carlos Caicedo and Greg Zwolinski. They spoke with me from their hotel in Costa Rica. I was first to break the story of Carla’s disappearance on Friday and ABC Action News has been informing you of every development in this case that has now gone international. ![]() She stayed in constant contact with friends and family through FaceTime calls and messages on WhatsApp.Even at this hour 1:39 a.m., we’ll do that again.It’s been the longest, most horrifying and traumatic day for this family. Stefaniak took an Uber back to their rented AirBnB apartment in Villa le Mas to wait for her flight the next day. They traveled to the country together, but the sister-in-law flew back on Nov. 22 with her sister-in-law April Antonieta to celebrate her birthday. Stefaniak was an avid traveler and had been in Costa Rica since Nov. ![]() The cause of death was blunt force trauma to her head, official said. The investigation is ongoing, the director said, and Martinez is considered to be a flight risk.Įspinoza said he couldn't reveal details of the ongoing investigation but said "the initial appearance is that it was sexually motivated." He said investigators are still trying to figure out the exact motive and for her death and understand the circumstances surrounding the incident.Īn autopsy revealed that Stefaniak had suffered multiple stab wounds and a broken neck. He'd been in the country since June, but Espinoza said he was there under "irregular" circumstances. Martinez is a native of Nicaragua, officials said. "(He) will also be subjected to other tests that will allow us more clarity and more light on the case." "At this time, we already have an identified suspect and he is under preventive custody," Investigation Department General Director Walter Espinoza said in a news conference. The next day, authorities and her father confirmed that it was Stefaniak. On Monday, Costa Rican authorities said they found the half-buried body of a woman in the woods about 1,000 feet from Stefaniak's room.
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