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viernes, 20 de abril de 2018
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miércoles, 23 de enero de 2013
Pastor’s Son Kills Parents and3 Siblings: Top 10 Facts You Need to Know
Pastor’s Son Kills Parents & 3 Siblings: Top 10 Facts You Need to Know
A 15-year-old pastor's son named Nehemiah Griego allegedly accessed his parents' gun arsenal, then murdered both parents and three siblings on Saturday in their New Mexico home — gunning them down with bullets to the head
Here's what you should know about this alleged teen killer and America's latest mass shooting.
1. His Youngest Victim Was a 2-Year-Old Sister
Nehemiah allegedly murdered his father, Pastor Greg Griego, 51; his mother, Sarah Griego, 40; and his three youngest siblings, Zephania Griego, 9, Jael Griego, 5, and Angelina Griego, 2, in their sprawling home at 2806 Long Lane Southwest in South Valley, New Mexico, near Albuquerque. The family had 10 children.
2. He Shot His Mom and Siblings in Their Beds
Nehemiah reportedly had a disagreement with his mom on Friday night, then grabbed a .22 caliber rifle from his parents' closet and shot her as she lay asleep, next to her 9-year-old son Zephania, around midnight Saturday morning. According to a police probable cause statement, he picked up his mother's head to show his brother her bloody face because the brother didn't believe the mom was dead. When the brother freaked out, Nehemiah shot him dead, too. He then proceeded to the room his young sisters shared — quelling their screams by also shooting them dead. He shot all of these victims in the head, some of them multiple times.
3. He Lay in Wait for His Dad
After the initial killings, Nehemiah grabbed an AR-15 assault rifle from his parents' closet and hid in a first-floor bathroom. He waited about five hours for his dad to come home, around 5 a.m., and gunned him down with several bullets. The AR-15 is one of the weapons used by Aurora shooter James Holmes and Sandy hook shooter Adam Lanza.
4. He Texted a Photo of His Dead Mom to His Girlfriend
Nehemiah told cops he only told one person he had committed the murders — via a gruesome text message to his girlfriend.
5. He Planned to Keep Killing ... at Walmart
According to the Albuquerque Journal, cops say that after he murdered his family, Nehemiah packed up the family van with a loaded AR-15 and another weapon and headed off toward the local Walmart — where he he planned to murder more people and commit suicide-by-cop in a dramatic shootout. But, the paper reports:
Nehemiah called a friend first, who talked him into meeting at Calvary Church, where Nehemiah’s father had been a pastor.Here's the route from the home to the church:
View Larger Map
Eventually, Nehemiah told a church security guard that someone was shot in his home. The guard went to the home, witnessed the carnage and called the cops.
6. His Dad Was a Beloved Pastor (Who Worked with Troubled Kids)
Greg Griego was a well-known local minister — a former pastor of the Calvary Albuquerque megachurch who was also active with inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
Family friend John Welch tells the Albuquerque Journal (video above) that his friend, Pastor Greg, worked tirelessly to help troubled kids. Ironically, Greg had "a kid who needed help," Nehemiah. Welch described the pastor as was "one of the most courageous, kind, endeared chaplain friends."
Local Fire Chef James Breen made this statement about Greg:
Chaplain Griego was a dedicated professional that passionately served his fellow man and the firefighters of this community. His calming spirit and gentle nature will be greatly missed.
7. He Had a Clean Past & Seemed "Like a Normal Kid"
According to the AP,
authorities indicate Nehemiah had never run afoul of the law, and there
is no record of him in the juvenile justice system, according to the
Children, Youth and Families Department.
Neighbor Jerry Crites tells KRQE
that the boy was "fairly quiet, not real rowdy that we could tell. He
seemed to be just a normal kid walking up and down the road."It's believed that Nehemiah was home-schooled; he was not registered in the local school district, and his mother, Sarah, was a stay-at-home mom known to home-school her kids.
8 But He Had "Violent Fantasies"
The Albuquerque Journal reports that authorities believe Nehemiah previously showed signs of a troubled mind:
Nehemiah may have had violent fantasies including killing and murder-suicide scenarios for much of his life.According to the probable cause statement, the teen told police he had been having "homicidal and suicidal thoughts." And cops said Tuesday that Nehemiah also thought about killing his girlfriend's parents.
9. He Always Wore Camouflage
Nehemiah had dreams of becoming a soldier and was known to wear camouflage — almost exclusively — whether he was walking around the neighborhood or taking a self-portrait for his dating profile (see below).
10. He Had a Dating Profile
KRQE discovered a Nehemiah's dating profile on the site Meet One. He had lied about his age, saying he was 18, to gain access to the site. It showed him dressed in military fatigues and included these words:
I'm a fun loving guy who [likes] to make [people] happy. I might be shy but I'll open up once you get to know me.It's one of the few places he left an online footprint. He had no Facebook page or Twitter account.
-----------
Here's the probable cause statement that details Nehemiah's version of events, as told to police:
miércoles, 22 de agosto de 2012
'You, me, a handle of Burnett's': Last tweet of two tragic college students, 19, killed in freak crash by train that derailed and buried them under TONS of coal
- Elizabeth Nass and Rose Mayr were apparently drinking on railway bridge
- Both posted updates on Twitter showing pictures of them sitting high up
- They were killed after CSX train carrying coal derailed
- Two train operators not injured in derailment
PUBLISHED: 20:43 GMT, 21 August 2012 | UPDATED: 10:29 GMT, 22 August 2012
Two 19-year-old college students were killed by a train after they were allegedly hanging out and drinking on the tracks, causing it to derail and bury them under tons of coal.
Howard County police identified the victims as Elizabeth Conway Nass and Rose Louese Mayr of Ellicott City, Maryland.
Nass was a student at James Madison University in Virginia and Mayr was a student at the University of Delaware, police said.
The women had both posted photos and updates to their Twitter pages, one of their feet hanging off the bridge in Ellicott City, about 13 miles west of Baltimore, and another, which read: ‘Drinking on top of the Ellicott City sign.’
Tragic end: Elizabeth Nass, left, and Rose Mayr, right, both 19, were
killed last night after they were apparently drinking on a train bridge,
causing the coal freighter to derail
Earlier, Nass had tweeted: ‘Once
before I leave you for school… you, me, a handle of burnett’s, and some
form of public transportation.’
Burnett's produces a variety of liquors, including vodka and gin.
Another photo Mayr posted showed what appeared to be two women's legs dangling from a bridge. 'Levitating,' Mayr wrote.
Ellicott City is a picturesque small town where there are several bars, and gift and antique shops in converted old buildings. The railroad runs across Main Street in Ellicott City, about 13 miles west of Baltimore.
Burnett's produces a variety of liquors, including vodka and gin.
Another photo Mayr posted showed what appeared to be two women's legs dangling from a bridge. 'Levitating,' Mayr wrote.
Ellicott City is a picturesque small town where there are several bars, and gift and antique shops in converted old buildings. The railroad runs across Main Street in Ellicott City, about 13 miles west of Baltimore.
A person who answered the telephone
at Nass' home declined to comment as did a family member who answered
the phone at a number listed for the Mayr family.
Two train operators were not harmed. Officials had to use cranes to remove some of the railroad cars.
'Many of those train cars fell onto automobiles, literally fell onto automobiles with the coal,' Howard County Executive Ken Ulman said. 'So you have massive piles of coal and heavy train cars on top of automobiles.'
Residents checked to see if their cars or friends' vehicles had been damaged on Tuesday morning.
Several grey CSX train cars were still on the bridge while others could be seen derailed farther down the rail line. A number of cars were in a wooded area of the train track that runs along the Patapsco River.
Benjamin Noppenberger lives downtown and said he was getting ready for bed when he heard the derailment. He and his wife thought it sounded like gunshots and waited about 10 minutes to go outside. 'We could see all the cars that fell over. I just saw catastrophe,' he said.
Jill Farrell, a 35-year-old assistant professor who lives across the street from the tracks, said she heard what sounded liked squealing brakes and then a huge crash.
Long day: Workers begin to clean up the wreckage; the train derailed
while crossing an overpass west of Baltimore, killing the two
19-year-old women and crushing several cars parked near the bridge
Rich history: An official walks past part of the derailed train; The train was passing through historic Ellicott City, around 13 miles outside of Baltimore
'It actually sounded like trains went off the tracks, and then silence,' she said.
The tracks follow the route of the nation's first commercial railroad between Baltimore and Ellicott City, completed by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1830.
Young people often party in the nearby parking lot and often hang out on the tracks, despite fences around the area.
'It's just sort of a magnet for teenage high jinks,' said Shelly Wygant of the Howard County Historical Society.
Rich past: The tracks follow the route of the nation's first commercial
railroad between Baltimore and Ellicott City, completed by the Baltimore
& Ohio Railroad in 1830
Two train operators were not harmed. Officials had to use cranes to remove some of the railroad cars.
'Many of those train cars fell onto automobiles, literally fell onto automobiles with the coal,' Howard County Executive Ken Ulman said. 'So you have massive piles of coal and heavy train cars on top of automobiles.'
Last tweet: Mayr's last tweet was this picture looking down from the bridge down on Ellicott City
Several grey CSX train cars were still on the bridge while others could be seen derailed farther down the rail line. A number of cars were in a wooded area of the train track that runs along the Patapsco River.
Benjamin Noppenberger lives downtown and said he was getting ready for bed when he heard the derailment. He and his wife thought it sounded like gunshots and waited about 10 minutes to go outside. 'We could see all the cars that fell over. I just saw catastrophe,' he said.
Jill Farrell, a 35-year-old assistant professor who lives across the street from the tracks, said she heard what sounded liked squealing brakes and then a huge crash.
Massive damage: Coal that spilled from the derailed freight train, bottom, partially covers cars in the parking lot below
Rich history: An official walks past part of the derailed train; The train was passing through historic Ellicott City, around 13 miles outside of Baltimore
'It actually sounded like trains went off the tracks, and then silence,' she said.
The tracks follow the route of the nation's first commercial railroad between Baltimore and Ellicott City, completed by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1830.
Young people often party in the nearby parking lot and often hang out on the tracks, despite fences around the area.
'It's just sort of a magnet for teenage high jinks,' said Shelly Wygant of the Howard County Historical Society.
Chronicling: An official photographs derailed train cars
im Southworth, investigator in charge
for the NTSB, declined to speculate on a possible cause. He said the
train was going about 25 miles per hour and was equipped with video
recording devices that investigators will review to help them determine
what happened.
Southworth said the train had two locomotives, was 3,000-feet-long and weighed 9,000 tons.
About 100 pounds of coal spilled into a tributary of the Patapsco River, a major Maryland waterway that parallels the tracks, said Maryland Department of the Environment spokesman Jay Apperson.
He said much more coal lay along the edge of the tributary, raising concerns it could boost the acidity of the water or threaten aquatic life.
It is not clear if the women died
having been hit by the carriages or if they were in the cars when the
accident happened around midnight.
The NTSB is currently investigating signals, communication, conditions of the track, conditions of the bridge and equipment.
They are also determining if 25 miles per hour was the correct speed for that stretch of track, said Southworth. A track expert is flying in from Chicago.
Southworth also noted that the train was equipped with video that can provide information in the direction the train was headed.
The incident was the second partial derailment this month in Howard County on the railway's Old Main Line
Monday's derailment is the third accident this month in Maryland involving a CSX train, and the second partial derailment in Howard County, on the railway's Old Main Line from Relay to Point of Rocks.
VIDEO: Aerials of the scene where the train derailed, killing two college students...
An 80-car CSX train carrying 9,000 tons of coal derailed in downtown Ellicott City overnight, killing two college students who were hanging out near the tracks.
Videos:
Maryland train derailment witness: ‘I heard a huge crash’
Aerial footage: Train derails outside Baltimore
Story:
Friends mourn students killed in train derailment
Elizabeth Conway Nass and Rose Louese Mayr, both 19, were killed when the eastbound freight train came off the tracks of a 20-foot-tall rail bridge near Main Street in the historic downtown area around midnight.
The two women, both from Ellicott City, apparently were posting to Twitter just before they died. (See below.)
“Drinking on top of the Ellicott City sign,” Nass tweeted before the crash. Tuesday morning, both Nass’ and Mayr’s Twitter accounts were public, but Mayr’s has since been set to private.
Howard County police said that 21 of the train’s 80 cars derailed or overturned about 12 miles outside Baltimore, coming off the tracks that run along the Patapsco River to the east. The train was en route from Grafton,W.Va., to Baltimore.
Verizon has said the train derailment disrupted some land-line service Tuesday morning, the Associated Press also reports. The outage affected some government servers.
The AP reports the problems reached the U.S. Navy base as far as Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Lawyers preparing for a Sept. 11 pretrial hearing could not access information stored on government servers, but the connection was restored this afternoon. The company told the Associated Press it is rerouting network traffic to other facilities.
A preliminary investigation indicates that the women were on a walkway alongside the tracks and were crushed by falling coal.
“It was like midnight, I heard the train coming,” recalled Lauren Ward, 23, who lives in a third-floor walk-up apartment in a building about 75 yards from the bridge. “It was really loud screeching. My dresser was shaking in my bedroom. I remember thinking, ‘It derailed.’ ”
In the wreckage, rescue workers found two bodies, later identified as Nass and Mayr.
The Associated Press reports that Nass was a student at James Madison University in Virginia. She made the dean’s list in the fall of 2011 and was a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha’s JMU chapter.
Mayr was a student at the University of Delaware, according to the Associated Press.
Two train operators were on board the train, but neither was injured.
The cause of the derailment remains under investigation. In addition to CSX investigators and Howard County police, National Transportation Safety Board personnel also are on the scene.
According to Jim Southworth, NTSB’s lead investigator, there was a head-in camera on the train. The footage hasn’t been reviewed, and Southworth could not say whether the train struck the women.
It is unknown whether the train operators saw the women on the bridge, but Southworth said there is no indication that they applied the brakes.
When asked whether the women may have caused the accident, Southworth said, “This is an area that we’re looking into very closely — what the operators of the train, the engineer and the conductor, what they saw or didn’t, what the train recorder picked up.”
The 3,000-foot-long train was carrying 9,000 tons of coal and traveling at 25 miles per hour, officials said.
Authorities said one of the train cars fell off the bridge and onto a county-owned lot beneath the tracks, crushing several parked vehicles. Cranes are being brought in to remove the train cars from the vehicles, and investigators are searching for additional victims.
Crews are working to clean up the spilled coal, which also fell into the Patapsco River. Police said no hazardous materials were spilled. The Associated Press reports that about 100 pounds of coal spilled into a tributary of the river, and that more coal lay along the edge of the tributary. Maryland Department of the Environment spokesman Jay Apperson told AP there are concerns the coal will boost the acidity of the water or threaten aquatic life.
Main Street and Frederick Road are closed from Ellicott City into Baltimore County.
Southworth said the train had two locomotives, was 3,000-feet-long and weighed 9,000 tons.
About 100 pounds of coal spilled into a tributary of the Patapsco River, a major Maryland waterway that parallels the tracks, said Maryland Department of the Environment spokesman Jay Apperson.
He said much more coal lay along the edge of the tributary, raising concerns it could boost the acidity of the water or threaten aquatic life.
'We could see all the cars that fell over. I just
saw catastrophe.'
Witness Benjamin Noppenberger
The NTSB is currently investigating signals, communication, conditions of the track, conditions of the bridge and equipment.
They are also determining if 25 miles per hour was the correct speed for that stretch of track, said Southworth. A track expert is flying in from Chicago.
Southworth also noted that the train was equipped with video that can provide information in the direction the train was headed.
The incident was the second partial derailment this month in Howard County on the railway's Old Main Line
Monday's derailment is the third accident this month in Maryland involving a CSX train, and the second partial derailment in Howard County, on the railway's Old Main Line from Relay to Point of Rocks.
VIDEO: Aerials of the scene where the train derailed, killing two college students...
Posted at 12:34 PM ET, 08/21/2012
This story has been updated.
Two killed as CSX train derails in Ellicott City overnight
By Maggie Fazeli Fard and Ashley Halsey
An 80-car CSX train carrying 9,000 tons of coal derailed in downtown Ellicott City overnight, killing two college students who were hanging out near the tracks.
Videos:
Maryland train derailment witness: ‘I heard a huge crash’
Aerial footage: Train derails outside Baltimore
Story:
Friends mourn students killed in train derailment
Elizabeth Conway Nass and Rose Louese Mayr, both 19, were killed when the eastbound freight train came off the tracks of a 20-foot-tall rail bridge near Main Street in the historic downtown area around midnight.
The two women, both from Ellicott City, apparently were posting to Twitter just before they died. (See below.)
“Drinking on top of the Ellicott City sign,” Nass tweeted before the crash. Tuesday morning, both Nass’ and Mayr’s Twitter accounts were public, but Mayr’s has since been set to private.
Howard County police said that 21 of the train’s 80 cars derailed or overturned about 12 miles outside Baltimore, coming off the tracks that run along the Patapsco River to the east. The train was en route from Grafton,W.Va., to Baltimore.
Verizon has said the train derailment disrupted some land-line service Tuesday morning, the Associated Press also reports. The outage affected some government servers.
The AP reports the problems reached the U.S. Navy base as far as Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Lawyers preparing for a Sept. 11 pretrial hearing could not access information stored on government servers, but the connection was restored this afternoon. The company told the Associated Press it is rerouting network traffic to other facilities.
A preliminary investigation indicates that the women were on a walkway alongside the tracks and were crushed by falling coal.
“It was like midnight, I heard the train coming,” recalled Lauren Ward, 23, who lives in a third-floor walk-up apartment in a building about 75 yards from the bridge. “It was really loud screeching. My dresser was shaking in my bedroom. I remember thinking, ‘It derailed.’ ”
In the wreckage, rescue workers found two bodies, later identified as Nass and Mayr.
The Associated Press reports that Nass was a student at James Madison University in Virginia. She made the dean’s list in the fall of 2011 and was a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha’s JMU chapter.
Mayr was a student at the University of Delaware, according to the Associated Press.
Two train operators were on board the train, but neither was injured.
The cause of the derailment remains under investigation. In addition to CSX investigators and Howard County police, National Transportation Safety Board personnel also are on the scene.
According to Jim Southworth, NTSB’s lead investigator, there was a head-in camera on the train. The footage hasn’t been reviewed, and Southworth could not say whether the train struck the women.
It is unknown whether the train operators saw the women on the bridge, but Southworth said there is no indication that they applied the brakes.
When asked whether the women may have caused the accident, Southworth said, “This is an area that we’re looking into very closely — what the operators of the train, the engineer and the conductor, what they saw or didn’t, what the train recorder picked up.”
The 3,000-foot-long train was carrying 9,000 tons of coal and traveling at 25 miles per hour, officials said.
Authorities said one of the train cars fell off the bridge and onto a county-owned lot beneath the tracks, crushing several parked vehicles. Cranes are being brought in to remove the train cars from the vehicles, and investigators are searching for additional victims.
Crews are working to clean up the spilled coal, which also fell into the Patapsco River. Police said no hazardous materials were spilled. The Associated Press reports that about 100 pounds of coal spilled into a tributary of the river, and that more coal lay along the edge of the tributary. Maryland Department of the Environment spokesman Jay Apperson told AP there are concerns the coal will boost the acidity of the water or threaten aquatic life.
Main Street and Frederick Road are closed from Ellicott City into Baltimore County.
viernes, 20 de julio de 2012
12 Killed in Shooting at Colorado Theater
12 Killed in Shooting at Colorado Theater
By DAN FROSCH, WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM, TIMOTHY WILLIAMS and MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT
AURORA, Colo. — A former neuroscience honors student dressed head to foot in body armor and brandishing three weapons, including an assault rifle, opened fire in a crowded theater at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie in a Denver suburb early Friday, killing at least 12 people and wounding 59 others, police and federal officials said.
The suspect, James Holmes,
24, told the police after his arrest that he had booby-trapped his
Aurora apartment with explosive devices, leading the police to evacuate
five buildings in the neighborhood as they sought to disable what they
described as “incendiary and chemical devices” that appeared to be
rigged to trip wires.
“We have an active and difficult scene,” said Aurora’s police chief, Dan
Oates. “It may be resolved in hours or days. We simply don’t know how
we’re going to handle that.”
During the attack, witnesses said, Mr. Holmes entered through a side
door of the packed theater wearing a gas mask. He set off two smoke
devices before firing randomly at audience members, who had just settled
into their seats. Within minutes, he was arrested in a parking lot
behind the theater near his car, the police said.
Mr. Holmes had apparently planned the attack for some time. In addition
to the gas mask, he wore body armor and a helmet and was dressed
completely in black. His gear included a throat protector, a groin
protector, a bulletproof vest and leggings, and tactical gloves.
He entered the theater with an AR-15 assault rifle, a Remington 12-gauge
shotgun and a .40-caliber Glock handgun. A fourth gun, another Glock
pistol, was found in his car. “This is the act, apparently, of a very
deranged mind,” said Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado.
A federal law enforcement official said investigators knew where at
least two of the guns had been purchased, and suggested that they were
bought recently, but would not say where or precisely when. Another law
enforcement official said that information investigators had obtained
about the purchase of the AR-15 rifle indicates that it was bought
locally and apparently legally, as were the other guns, adding, “there’s
nothing nefarious there.”
The suspect was in possession of a clip with more than 20 rounds, a
federal official said, that would have been illegal under an assault
rifle ban that expired in 2004. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives has handed over information on where and when the guns
were purchased to the police in Aurora. Investigators have uncovered no
solid indications of a motive and no evidence of any past aberrant
behavior.
“He’s not on anybody’s radar screen — nothing,” the law enforcement
official said, adding that investigators were sifting through social
media sites in an effort to determine whether Mr. Holmes had ever posted
anything that might indicate some violent tendencies. The second law
enforcement official, speaking of Mr. Holmes, said: “This guy is
somewhat of an enigma. Nobody knows anything about him.”
The shooting took place at the midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises,”
in a theater packed with families and children. It was not immediately
clear whether the gunman ran out of ammunition or stopped shooting for
some other reason.
Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly of the New York City police, who
dispatched officers to patrol screenings of the film in New York, said
he had been told the shooting suspect had hair painted red and said he
was the Joker. That detail could not be initially confirmed. The
authorities believe that Mr. Holmes acted alone, and that the death toll
may increase because some of the wounds were serious.
Mr. Holmes’s family in San Diego asked for privacy in a statement released by the city’s Police Department.
“Our hearts go out to those who were involved in this tragedy and to the
families and friends of those involved,” the statement said. “We ask
that the media respect our privacy during this difficult time. Our
family is cooperating with authorities in both San Diego, California and
Aurora, Colorado. We are still trying to process this information and
we appreciate that people will respect our privacy.”
Mr. Holmes’s only criminal history is a traffic summons, the authorities
said. He earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in neuroscience in 2010
from the University of California, Riverside, and was a graduate
student in neurosciences at the University of Colorado at Denver’s
Anschutz Medical Campus, although the university said in a statement
that he was in the process of withdrawing. He was collecting
unemployment, a federal law enforcement official said.
A spokeswoman for the university, Jackie Brinkman, said that Mr. Holmes
was dropping out because of academic problems. Ms. Brinkman said the
university was unaware of any incidents with the campus police or
disciplinary problems involving Mr. Holmes while he was enrolled.
Billy Kromka, a pre-med student at the University of Colorado, Boulder,
worked with Mr. Holmes for three months last summer as a research
assistant in a lab of at the Anschutz Medical Campus. Mr. Kromka said he
was surprised to learn Mr. Holmes was the shooting suspect. “It was
just shocking, because there was no way I thought he could have the
capacity to do commit an atrocity like this,” he said.
Mr. Kromka said that Mr. Holmes was one of the quieter people in the
lab. He spent much of his time immersed in the computer, often
participating in role-playing online games.
Mr. Kromka said that he never heard Mr. Holmes talk about a girlfriend
or his life outside of work. The police and witnesses described a scene
of utter chaos inside the darkened, smoke-filled theater as bullets
resounded loudly and people who had gone to see a PG-13-rated action
movie were suddenly forced to scramble for cover as friends and loved
ones were felled around them.
Chief Oates said he did not know how many shots the gunman had fired,
saying only that it was “many, many rounds,” one of which passed through
a wall and wounded a moviegoer in an adjoining theater. Jordan Crofter,
19, said he had felt lucky to have snagged a seat in the front row at
the midnight screening. But about five minutes into the movie, he said, a
side door swung open and a man in black wearing a gas mask calmly
strode through.
At first, Mr. Crofter thought perhaps the man was part of the show. But
within a few seconds, he said, the man hurled two gas canisters down the
theater aisle.
“He walked in so casually, like he knew what he was doing,” said Mr.
Crofter. “I heard two pops. Everyone was distracted. That was when the
panic and the chaos started.”
Mr. Crofter said that once he noticed that the man was also carrying a
rifle, he ran in the opposite direction as fast as he could.
“He started shooting, and everyone ducked and started screaming,” he
said. “He looked like he was ready to go into battle. It was like he was
walking around and having fun. Emotionless.”
With the investigation in its earliest stages, the authorities said they
were unsure what prompted the attack, or whether Mr. Holmes had ties to
any hate groups.
Mr. Holmes did tell the police that he had explosives at an Aurora
residence, which led F.B.I. agents, along with agents from the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the local police to
cordon off a North Aurora neighborhood, focusing attention on a
third-floor apartment in a red brick building.
Emergency crews perched on a cherry picker were seen breaking the window with an ax.
The police described the apartment as being full of wires and what appeared to be explosive devices.
“It’s something I’ve never seen before,” said Chief Oates.
John Priest, who lives in an adjacent building, said that his
21-year-old son had been in the movie theater with two friends during
the shooting but was unharmed. The two friends, however, had been
wounded — one was hit by a bullet in the buttocks and grazed in the leg,
and the other was shot in the leg. Neither injury is life threatening,
he said.
“How could people do something like this?” Mr. Priest said. “I don’t understand this.”
Aurora, which has a population of about 325,000, had only six killings in all of 2011, according to F.B.I. crime data.
At Gateway High School, where the authorities have directed people to
gather to get news about friends and family members, Rosemary Ratcliff
said that she had so far been unable to find her son, Abdullah, 17, who
she believes had been at the midnight screening.
“I haven’t heard from him, and none of his friends are picking up their
phones,” she said in a near-whisper as she left the school.
The authorities have not released the names of the victims, but Pentagon
officials said that two airmen and one sailor had been wounded in the
shooting and that another sailor known to have been at the theater was
still unaccounted for. The Pentagon also said that the suspect was not a
past or current member of the armed forces.
The wounded were sent to six hospitals in the region, including
Children’s Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado Hospital.
“The entire emergency department staff was called in,” said Dr. Comilla
Sasson, who added that even though the emergency room was full before
the shooting, it had admitted 20 victims who ranged in age from 3 months
to 45 years. The victims’ injuries included gunshot wounds and shrapnel
injuries, Dr. Sasson said. Nine people were in critical condition.
At least three other people were in critical condition at other hospitals, officials said.
The shooting erupted at the Century 16 Movie Theater during the first
showings of “The Dark Knight Rises.” Throngs had gathered, some dressed
as characters from the highly anticipated Batman sequel. The four
screenings of the film were sold out, although it is not quite clear how
many people were inside at the time.
The police and witnesses said that after the gunman entered the theater
through an exit door there was the smell of either pepper spray or tear
gas in the theater as gunshots rang out.
Jamie Rohrs, 25, was at the theater with his family, including his
4-month-old toddler, Ethan, whom Mr. Rohrs held during the movie. A few
minutes into the film, he said that he saw a flash.
“You didn’t know if it was fireworks or what it was,” he said. “My first
instinct was to get to the ground, get to the ground. I ducked. That
was the first moment you knew something was going on.”
Mr. Rohrs said that he jumped over his seat and crouched into the next row, his baby still in his arms.
“It was just chaos. You started hearing screaming. You looked up and
people were falling. It was like a dream,” he said. “I was thinking, Do I
lay him down? Do I play dead? If there is more than one gunman, is he
going to go upstairs and shoot? Ethan’s crying. And we’re just laying
there.”
Mr. Rohrs said he was stumbling and crawling through the theater, trying to figure out what to do.
“Do I run out the door? Is he going to shoot the baby? What am I to
do?” he said, his voice quavering. “I didn’t drop the baby. I fell on my
arms.”
Finally, he said, he stood up to look for a way out and was able to escape as gunshots flashed to his right.
President Obama, in Florida as part of a campaign swing, was notified of
the shooting by his top counterterrorism adviser, John O. Brennan, at
5:26 a.m., the White House said.
“We do not believe at this point there was an apparent nexus to
terrorism,” Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, told reporters
on Air Force One.
Mr. Obama returned to Washington on Friday afternoon, cutting short his
Florida trip, his campaign said.In remarks at a previously scheduled
stop in Fort Myers, Fla., Mr. Obama talked in highly personal ways about
the tragedy. “My daughters go to the movies,” he said. “What if Malia
and Sasha had been in the theater as so many of our kids do every day?
Michelle and I will be fortunate enough to hug our girls a little
tighter tonight.”He reflected on the fragility of life and the
triviality of so much of what passes for daily existence, calling on the
country to remember what really matters. “The people we lost in Aurora
loved and were loved,” he said. “They were mothers and fathers, they
were husbands and wives, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters,
friends and neighbors. They had hopes for the future and they had dreams
that were not yet fulfilled.”
He asked for a moment of silence and asked the Florida crowd to “spend a
little time thinking about the incredible blessings that God has given
us.”
Both Mr. Obama and Mitt Romney, the presumed Republican presidential
nominee, said that they planned to pull television campaign ads in
Colorado.
The movie studio Warner Bros., which is owned by Time Warner, released a
statement Friday morning saying that the company and the filmmakers
were “deeply saddened” and “extend our sincere sympathies to the
families and loved ones of the victims at this tragic time.”
According to a Warner Bros. spokeswoman, the studio pulled its trailer
for an upcoming film, “Gangster Squad,” which is set for release in
September. In the trailer, which was shown at some screenings of “The
Dark Knight Rises,” but not in the Aurora theater, men are seen shooting
up the crowd in a movie theater.
Mr. Kelly said he had stepped up security at all 40 locations in New York City where the film is playing. “A lot of young people are going to see this movie,” he said.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, who has waged a national
campaign for stricter gun laws, called on President Obama and Mr. Romney
to address more concretely the issue of gun violence in their
campaigns.
“You know, soothing words are nice,” Mr. Bloomberg said during his
weekly radio program, “but maybe it’s time that the two people who want
to be president of the United States stand up and tell us what they are
going to do about it, because this is obviously a problem across the
country.”
Dan Frosch reported from Aurora, William K. Rashbaum and Timothy
Williams from New York, and Michael S. Schmidt from Washington.
Reporting was contributed by Peter Baker from West Palm Beach, Fla.;
Jennifer Medina and Michael Cieply from Los Angeles, Elisabeth Bumiller,
Jennifer Steinhauer and John Cushman from Washington; and J. David
Goodman, Victoria Shannon, Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Jennifer Preston, Wendy
Ruderman and Thomas Kaplan from New York. Kitty Bennett and Sheelagh
McNeill contributed research.
Batman cinema shooting: James Holmes
Batman cinema shooting: James Holmes 'told police he was The Joker'
James Holmes, the alleged gunman who shot 71 people during the midnight premiere of the new Batman film, told police he was "the Joker" as they interrogated him about the massacre in Aurora, Colorado.
bout the massacre in Aurora, Colorado.
Image 1 of 5
Photo: BYLINE BEAT
Telegraph.co.uk
Friday 20 July 2012
Batman cinema shooting: James Holmes 'told police he was The Joker'
James Holmes, the alleged gunman who shot 71 people during the midnight premiere of the new Batman film, told police he was "the Joker" as they interrogated him about the massacre in Aurora, Colorado.
Image 2 of 5
Photo: DENVER CHANNEL
By
Raf Sanchez, Mark Hughes, Nick Allen
8:53PM BST 20 Jul 2012
The 24-year-old was reported to have dyed his hair and beard red before he
stepped into the crowded cinema, hurled a tear gas grenade and opened fire,
killing 12 people and leaving 59 more injured.
As terrified viewers fled through the smoke and blood, Holmes was said to
calmly walk out into the car park where he surrendered to officers and later
identified himself as Batman's sadistic nemesis from the Dark Knight series.
"It clearly looks like a deranged individual," said Raymond Kelly,
the Commissioner of the New York Police Department. "He had his hair
painted red, he said he was ‘The Joker’, obviously the ‘enemy’ of Batman."
While detectives continued to interview the former PhD student, who they say
acted alone, explosives experts were working to disarm "chemical and
incendiary" devices that he planted at his apartment.
The massacre began at 12.39 this morning as the gunman - wearing a bullet
proof helmet, vest, leggings and a throat and groin protector as well as
gloves - entered through a fire door at the front of the multiplex's theatre
9.
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He carried four weapons, a Remington 12 gauge shotgun, an AR15 assault rifle
and two .40 calibre Glock handguns, but began his attack with a tear gas
canister that some cinema-goers mistook for a special effect until they
began to feel the sting in their throats. He fired at least one round into
the air before turning his weapon on the crowd and methodically opening
fire.
Within moments Aurora Police, who are headquartered less than a mile away, began to receive frantic phone calls from victims pleading for help. Chief Dan Oates said that officers arrived within "a minute and a half" but not before Holmes allegedly fired dozens of rounds - hitting 71 people, including a victim in an adjacent theatre and a three-month-old child.
"He pointed the gun at my face. I was like a deer in the headlights. I panicked. I thought, ‘I’m going to die if I don’t do something,'" Jessica Seeger, 22, told CNN. " I just saw dead bodies everywhere."
Of the 12 people killed, ten died on the scene and a further two succumbed to injuries in nearby hospitals.
Among the victims was Jessica Ghawi, a 24-year-old aspiring sports journalist who narrowly avoided being involved in another shooting in Canada a month previously. In a harrowing final blog post, written in June, she said: "I saw the terror on bystanders’ faces. I saw the victims of a senseless crime. I saw lives change. I was reminded that we don’t know when or where our time on Earth will end."
Chief Oates said he was "confident" that Holmes had acted alone and his officers were not seeking any other suspects. However, he said explosives experts were involved at an "active and difficult scene" at Holmes's apartment at 1690 Paris Street and that it could take days before they were able to safely disarm the devices they found there.
Holmes himself told detectives about the explosives after being taken into custody but was reportedly refusing to cooperate beyond that. Chief Oates refused to speculate on the motive for the killing.
The suspect is due to appear in court on Monday but already a picture began to emerge of him as a highly-educated young man who had never previously been in trouble with the police, save for a single parking ticket.
Raised California, by his parents Arlene and Robert, he moved from San Diego to Colorado after graduating from The University of California, Riverside, in 2010 with a degree in neuroscience.
In June 2011 he enrolled in a PhD course in neurosciences at the University of Colorado, Denver. But last month he began the process of withdrawing from the course, the university confirmed.
Shortly before he dropped out, Holmes had taken a class on psychiatric disorders.
Even more recently, just a few weeks ago according to the building manager, he moved to apartment 10 on the third floor at 1690 Paris Street, Aurora. On a rent application he described himself as “quiet and easy going”, according to the Denver Post.
Unlike many previous massacres, where signs of a motive have been immediately apparent, Holmes appears to have gone “under the radar”. The authorities said that he was not on any watch list nor was he a member of any terrorist organisation. He apparently bought all the weapons legally.
His family released a statement saying: “Our hearts go out to those who were involved in this tragedy and to the family and friends also involved." They said they were fully cooperating with the police investigation.
John Hickenlooper, the governor of Colorado, said the killer had a "deranged mind".
Both President Barack Obama and his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, called off their campaigning for the day, giving only short and sober speeches reflecting on the tragedy.
"If there is anything to take away from this tragedy, it is a reminder that life is fragile," Mr Obama said. "Our time here is limited and it is precious. What matters at the end of the day is not the small things, not the trivial things that so often consume us."
The President cut short a campaign trip to Florida and returned to the White House where he chaired an emergency meeting of senior law enforcement officials. Flags on government buildings and military bases across the country were flown at half mast.
Within moments Aurora Police, who are headquartered less than a mile away, began to receive frantic phone calls from victims pleading for help. Chief Dan Oates said that officers arrived within "a minute and a half" but not before Holmes allegedly fired dozens of rounds - hitting 71 people, including a victim in an adjacent theatre and a three-month-old child.
"He pointed the gun at my face. I was like a deer in the headlights. I panicked. I thought, ‘I’m going to die if I don’t do something,'" Jessica Seeger, 22, told CNN. " I just saw dead bodies everywhere."
Of the 12 people killed, ten died on the scene and a further two succumbed to injuries in nearby hospitals.
Among the victims was Jessica Ghawi, a 24-year-old aspiring sports journalist who narrowly avoided being involved in another shooting in Canada a month previously. In a harrowing final blog post, written in June, she said: "I saw the terror on bystanders’ faces. I saw the victims of a senseless crime. I saw lives change. I was reminded that we don’t know when or where our time on Earth will end."
Chief Oates said he was "confident" that Holmes had acted alone and his officers were not seeking any other suspects. However, he said explosives experts were involved at an "active and difficult scene" at Holmes's apartment at 1690 Paris Street and that it could take days before they were able to safely disarm the devices they found there.
Holmes himself told detectives about the explosives after being taken into custody but was reportedly refusing to cooperate beyond that. Chief Oates refused to speculate on the motive for the killing.
The suspect is due to appear in court on Monday but already a picture began to emerge of him as a highly-educated young man who had never previously been in trouble with the police, save for a single parking ticket.
Raised California, by his parents Arlene and Robert, he moved from San Diego to Colorado after graduating from The University of California, Riverside, in 2010 with a degree in neuroscience.
In June 2011 he enrolled in a PhD course in neurosciences at the University of Colorado, Denver. But last month he began the process of withdrawing from the course, the university confirmed.
Shortly before he dropped out, Holmes had taken a class on psychiatric disorders.
Even more recently, just a few weeks ago according to the building manager, he moved to apartment 10 on the third floor at 1690 Paris Street, Aurora. On a rent application he described himself as “quiet and easy going”, according to the Denver Post.
Unlike many previous massacres, where signs of a motive have been immediately apparent, Holmes appears to have gone “under the radar”. The authorities said that he was not on any watch list nor was he a member of any terrorist organisation. He apparently bought all the weapons legally.
His family released a statement saying: “Our hearts go out to those who were involved in this tragedy and to the family and friends also involved." They said they were fully cooperating with the police investigation.
John Hickenlooper, the governor of Colorado, said the killer had a "deranged mind".
Both President Barack Obama and his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, called off their campaigning for the day, giving only short and sober speeches reflecting on the tragedy.
"If there is anything to take away from this tragedy, it is a reminder that life is fragile," Mr Obama said. "Our time here is limited and it is precious. What matters at the end of the day is not the small things, not the trivial things that so often consume us."
The President cut short a campaign trip to Florida and returned to the White House where he chaired an emergency meeting of senior law enforcement officials. Flags on government buildings and military bases across the country were flown at half mast.
miércoles, 30 de mayo de 2012
Facing what? MacArthur Causeway, Miami
Victim Identified In Causeway Cannibal Attack
May 29, 2012 6:56 PM
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – CBS4 has confirmed, along with news partner The Miami Herald, the identity of the man whose face was laid bare by the cannibal attack of Rudy Eugene on the MacArthur Causeway Saturday afternoon.
Even before he was apparently attacked by a cannibal as holiday weekend travelers whizzed by along the MacArthur Causeway; Ronald Poppo lived a hard-knock life among the homeless men who call the space under the causeway home.
Poppo has not been officially identified by police or by officials at Jackson Memorial Hospital, but his identity has been confirmed by a CBS4 source and by Miami Herald sources.
His past shows time in New York City, and back in the 80′s, in New Orleans; but a long record of arrests for mostly petty crimes places him in the Miami area, at least off and on, as far back as 1978 when he was charged with criminal mischief.
Over the years, he dipped in and out of the courts for the types of crimes that are common when you don’t have a place to live.
In 1983, he was charged with sleeping in public. In 1989, it was violating park hours. Disorderly conduct, assault, petty larceny, and burglary all brought him into court, and then, sent him back to the street.
Poppo was arrested for drinking in public a number of times. When drinking, court records indicate, he seemed to be a bit of a brawler, charged with disorderly intoxication.
Miami-Dade court records show the last time he appeared before a local judge was in 2006, for trespassing.
Beyond the stark facts of police reports and public records, all that’s really known about Poppo is that he drank and hung out under the bridge; and on Saturday, he was the central figure in the last minutes of Rudy Eugene’s life.
The two men ended up on the bike path along the causeway; Poppo naked from the waist down and Eugene naked as a jaybird. That was weird even for Miami, but Poppo’s life was moving from sad to weird to bizarre.
Poppo was bleeding from the wounds he was getting from Eugene, who was ripping the flesh from Poppo’s face in strips. He bit off his nose, sources said and his eyes were gouged.
Alarmed passersby called police and even flagged an officer down, but when the cop arrived CBS4 sources said he couldn’t stop a growling, frenzied Eugene from his attack. So the cop fired his gun until Eugene stopped, because he was dead.
Nobody is sure why Eugene attacked, why he was making a meal of Poppo, or why Poppo was the target of his rage. Much of that was left a mystery when Eugene took his final breath.
Paramedics came and took Poppo to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for the bizarre cannibalistic attack. Gruesome photos circulating on the web show injuries so profound his chances for recovery seem small.
Hospital officials knew his identity, but couldn’t say anything about him. Since Saturday, they have tried without success to find a relative somewhere they can tell about what’s happened to Poppo and to get information for his care.
They have found nobody. After 65 years on this earth and barely surviving on the street; Poppo is now the victim of a bizarre cannibal who has left him disfigured with deadly injuries and he seems to be alone in the world. Until Saturday, he was a nobody. Now, he’s famous. All it took was a crazed cannibal attacker who had called the streets of Miami home.
viernes, 20 de agosto de 2010
Natasha
Esto ocurrió en el 2004.
Las autoridades sospechan que la guapa bailarina rusa Olesya Fedko, conocida en el mundo artístico como "Natasha", fue ejecutada de un balazo en la cabeza, víctima de una aparente venganza. El cuerpo de la rusa apareció con un balazo en la frente, en la comunidad de La Palma de Parrita, el pasado 29 de enero, cuando varios peones realizaban labores agrícolas en un cultivo de Palma Africana. La policía maneja dos versiones que pudieron desatar la venganza, pero se mantienen en reserva, para no entorpecer las pesquisas.
La extranjera, de 24 años de edad, ingresó al país hace un año y cuatro meses. En principio se estableció en Moravia, pero hace unos tres meses se trasladó a Sabana Sur, en donde alquilaba el apartamento número 8 de un edificio.
Mariana Soto, Jefa de Prensa de La Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, informó que la joven ingresó al país el día 4 de mayo del 2002, en el vuelo 611 de la compañía Lacsa procedente de Caracas Venezuela.
"Entró como turista, pero sacó un permiso temporal de estudio que venció el 31 de diciembre del 2002", explicó Soto.
"Era muy hermosa, guapísima. Hablaba poco español. Casi siempre salía del apartamento como a las 5 de la tarde y regresaba de mañana. Los taxistas que venían a dejarla siempre sacaban su tiempito para observar esa hermosa figura, mientras ella abría el portón", recordó uno de los guardas que vigilan la calle en donde vivía la rusa. El vigilante prefirió reservar su identidad por temor a represalias.
"La vi por última vez el 6 de enero. Recuerdo que salió bien guapa como siempre, pero esta vez acompañada de una gringa", agregó el guarda.
"Natasha" trabajó primero en un conocido night club capitalino, pero últimamente frecuentaba el bar de un popular hotel josefino. Cabe señalar que junto al cuerpo de la víctima, la policía halló una almohada de hotel con un impacto de bala, así como el cargador de un arma y una bala calibre 45.
Por el momento no se ha podido determinar si la almohada es del mismo hotel que frecuentaba la rusa.
Por ello necesitan la colaboración de la ciudadanía, para ubicar en tiempo y espacio a la mujer, entre el lunes 26 y el jueves 29 de enero. Si usted observó a la mujer que aparece en la fotografía llame de inmediato a los teléfonos 777 15 11 y 777 05 11.
El cuerpo de "Natasha" fue identificado gracias a las joyas que portaba, como por ejemplo un crucifijo de oro con piedras verdes, así como dos anillos.
"Recibimos la llamada de un ruso que reconoció las joyas y después confirmamos la información gracias a una hermana de la muchacha, que está en el país", explicó una fuente cercana al caso.
Según el OIJ, en el apartamento de Olesya, decomisaron varias fotografías en las cuales la bailarina aparece en cubiertas de yates de personas adineradas.
Se sospecha que los días antes de que la asesinaran anduvo entre Jacó, Quepos y Manuel Antonio.
monicau@aldia.co.cr
* "Natasha" recibió tiro en la frente, Parrita:
HERMOSA RUSA FUE EJECUTADA
IVAN MEZA KAWAS Fotos: Cortesía del OIJ y archivo.
|
La extranjera, de 24 años de edad, ingresó al país hace un año y cuatro meses. En principio se estableció en Moravia, pero hace unos tres meses se trasladó a Sabana Sur, en donde alquilaba el apartamento número 8 de un edificio.
Mariana Soto, Jefa de Prensa de La Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, informó que la joven ingresó al país el día 4 de mayo del 2002, en el vuelo 611 de la compañía Lacsa procedente de Caracas Venezuela.
"Entró como turista, pero sacó un permiso temporal de estudio que venció el 31 de diciembre del 2002", explicó Soto.
"HABLABA POCO ESPAÑOL"
DIARIO EXTRA visitó el lugar en donde vivía "Natasha". Desde la calle se observa el apartamento que la extranjera rentaba por unos $350 al mes, pero que ahora está vacío, luego de que una hermana de la fallecida recogiera sus pertenencias.
"Era muy hermosa, guapísima. Hablaba poco español. Casi siempre salía del apartamento como a las 5 de la tarde y regresaba de mañana. Los taxistas que venían a dejarla siempre sacaban su tiempito para observar esa hermosa figura, mientras ella abría el portón", recordó uno de los guardas que vigilan la calle en donde vivía la rusa. El vigilante prefirió reservar su identidad por temor a represalias.
"La vi por última vez el 6 de enero. Recuerdo que salió bien guapa como siempre, pero esta vez acompañada de una gringa", agregó el guarda.
"Natasha" trabajó primero en un conocido night club capitalino, pero últimamente frecuentaba el bar de un popular hotel josefino. Cabe señalar que junto al cuerpo de la víctima, la policía halló una almohada de hotel con un impacto de bala, así como el cargador de un arma y una bala calibre 45.
Por el momento no se ha podido determinar si la almohada es del mismo hotel que frecuentaba la rusa.
URGE INFORMACIÓN
El Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) de Quepos lograron recrear los últimos momentos de la bailarina, pero pierden su pista el día 26 de enero, tres días antes del asesinato.
Por ello necesitan la colaboración de la ciudadanía, para ubicar en tiempo y espacio a la mujer, entre el lunes 26 y el jueves 29 de enero. Si usted observó a la mujer que aparece en la fotografía llame de inmediato a los teléfonos 777 15 11 y 777 05 11.
El cuerpo de "Natasha" fue identificado gracias a las joyas que portaba, como por ejemplo un crucifijo de oro con piedras verdes, así como dos anillos.
"Recibimos la llamada de un ruso que reconoció las joyas y después confirmamos la información gracias a una hermana de la muchacha, que está en el país", explicó una fuente cercana al caso.
Según el OIJ, en el apartamento de Olesya, decomisaron varias fotografías en las cuales la bailarina aparece en cubiertas de yates de personas adineradas.
Se sospecha que los días antes de que la asesinaran anduvo entre Jacó, Quepos y Manuel Antonio.
Aventura sin retorno
Extranjeras vienen como turistas, ejercen prostitución y caen en espiral de violencia
Mónica UMAÑA D. / Al Díamonicau@aldia.co.cr
Olesdya Fedko tenía menos de dos años de haber llegado al país, cumplió 24 años, y hace 21 días fue asesinada en Parrita.
Oriunda de Stavoprol, Rusia, Olesdya pasó a engrosar la lista de mujeres extranjeras que han muerto en Costa Rica mientras trabajaban en hoteles o clubes nocturnos.
“Vienen al país como turistas y se quedan sin dinero, ahí deciden irse a un hotel y trabajan para hacer recursos”, explicó Marco Badilla, director de Migración.
|
Entre enero y diciembre del 2003, 111 mujeres fueron deportadas a sus países de origen, según datos proporcionados por Migración y Extranjería.
No tienen un estimado de cuántas de ellas se dedicaban a la prostitución.
Según estimaciones de Migración, cada mujer puede ganar alrededor de $10 mil mensuales (¢4,2 millones). Entre ellas hay colombianas, nicaragüenses, dominicanas, rusas y rumanas.
El director de Migración dijo que no tienen evidencia de que estas mujeres formen parte de redes o bandas dedicadas a la trata de blancas.
No obstante, el Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos advirtió, en junio del 2003, sobre el tráfico de personas que coloca a Costa Rica como país receptor de mujeres y niños traficados para prostitución. Dice además que el Gobierno no cumple con los estándares mínimos para prevenir el tráfico, sin embargo, hace esfuerzos significativos.
Las extranjeras que vienen al país a ejercer la prostitución no sólo se limitan a los hoteles o clubes nocturnos de San José.
Las autoridades han identificado que se desplazan a las playas, como Manuel Antonio, Jacó y Guanacaste.
La mayoría de estas mujeres, dijo Marco Badilla, saben a lo que vienen. Esto entonces no se considera trata de blancas que implica venta de personas y prostitución aún en contra de su voluntad.
Lo que se da en el país es tráfico que no conlleva engaño.
“Sentimos que la incidencia de la trata de mujeres es mucho menor, se han dado casos, pero no ha habido contundencia, aunque tampoco lo podemos dejar de considerar”, señaló Badilla.
Miles de mujeres rusas son comerciadas en sitios de Internet, donde se ofrecen como esposas, novias o parejas.
Bajo el título “Compre esposas rusas”, las páginas ofrecen mujeres de diferentes edades, que, incluso, se pueden pagar con tarjeta de crédito.
Una fuente le dijo ayer a Al Día que conoce de un costarricense que supuestamente adquirió una compañera rusa en estas condiciones.
Como turistas El ministro de Seguridad, Rogelio Ramos, explicó que las mujeres que vienen a trabajar en prostitución a nuestro país provienen de países a los que Costa Rica no ha impuesto visa, por eso entran en calidad de turistas y hacen una serie de maniobras legales, como matrimonios fingidos, para quedarse en el país.
“Pedí que emitieran una circular para que en los aeropuertos hagan una revisión minuciosa de estas mujeres, de manera que si vienen con intención de ejercer la prostitución sean rechazadas y se impida su ingreso al país. La finalidad es hacer un mayor control en los aeropuertos”, dijo Ramos.
“Migración debe desarrollar un plan no solo en San José, donde verifiquen el estatus migratorio de estas personas, y las que permanezcan ilegalmente o ejerciendo trabajos remunerados sin tener el permiso respectivo, deben ser sacadas del país, además de que nos sirve para identificar quiénes están detrás de esto”, dijo el Ministro.
En internet se pueden encontrar sitios que promueven la venta de mujeres rusas. |
Estudiar idiomas
Olesdya Fedko ingresó al país en octubre del 2002 y recibió un permiso temporal como estudiante, que venció el 31 de diciembre de ese mismo año, según consta en el expediente de Migración y Extranjería.
El 29 de enero, Olesdya apareció en Playa Bandera de Parrita, con un balazo en la cabeza.
En el documento de Migración, la joven de 24 años afirmó que estaba en el país para estudiar en el Centro de idiomas Universidad Magister, y presentó todos los documentos que esa entidad solicita para otorgar este tipo de permisos.
Las autoridades reconocen que por tratarse de una ciudadana rusa, es difícil localizar familiares o conocidos de la joven que faciliten la investigación sobre su muerte.
La misma fuente confirma que la mujer rusa había trabajado en un club nocturno capitalino y luego en un hotel.
Se intentó hablar con el administrador del hotel, quien se negó a dar detalles de la joven.
“No quiero hacer comentarios al respecto, vienen muchos clientes y no queremos vernos perjudicados. No vamos a hacer comentarios al respecto”, dijo Greg Rusica.
Las autoridades conocieron a Irina, una hermana de Olesdya, sin embargo perdieron el rastro de la joven, que se supone radica en nuestro país.
Extranjeras en Costa Rica
Teresa Rosario Menolla, dominicana de 24 años, murió tras recibir un disparo en el ojo izquierdo en un departamento en el Barrio San José de Alajuela. El departamento donde encontraron el cuerpo de la mujer, el 13 de enero, lo tenía arrendado un colombiano, quien, al parecer, trabaja en turismo.
La nicaragüense Ivelka Chavarría Moncada murió en agosto del 2002 por sobredosis de cocaína en un yate en Jacó, que pertenece a un estadounidense de apellido Azzara. La mujer trabajaba en el Night Club Divas.
La dominicana María Liriano Rodríguez fue asesinada el 26 de marzo del 2002, cuando se encontraba en la casa de un jamaiquino en el residencial Cariari, en San Antonio de Belén.
Una joven de 20 años, nacida en Bucarest, Rumanía, le contó a Al Día en junio del 2002, que su sueño era estudiar economía o derecho, pero se vino a Costa Rica a trabajar en prostitución. Dijo que en seis meses esperaba reunir el dinero suficiente para abrir un restaurante en Rumanía y terminar sus estudios.
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