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.
According 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. 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.
Agentes judiciales de la Sección Delitos Varios, en conjunto con el Ministerio Público, lograron la detención de un…
Posted by Organismo de Investigación Judicial on Tuesday, December 4, 2018
A medical examiner reportedly wrote that Carla died from the neck wounds.
Authorities 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. “[They] cut the jugular and then [attacked] the head after.”
Carla’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. Martinez apparently told Caicedo Jr. 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.
“We went to the villa. This guy shook our hands, looked us in the eye and told us his fake story,” Caicedo Jr. said. “I can’t believe it.”
EXCLUSIVE | Family of missing tourist in Costa Rica confirm they've seen body and it is Carla
#BREAKING | Tonight, I’m speaking exclusively with Carlos Caicedo and Greg Zwolinski. Caicedo is Carla Stefaniak's father. Zwolinski is her long-time friend. 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. 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. It’s incredible how they are leaning on one another and refusing to crumble even as every development has been more horrible than the one before. Carlos and Greg told me they finally got to look at the body and see with their own eyes that it IS Carla.They spoke with me in a 20 minute conversation. Here’s about five minutes of that. They told me how they want Carla to be remembered, they shared pictures and they told me what they saw when they walked into that morgue room and saw Carla’s body. They described why they are certain of one thing— “Isabel…Carla fight.”Stay with ABC Action News – WFTS – Tampa Bay as Good Morning Tampa Bay shares more of this interview and what’s next for the family in this tragic story.FULL STORY —> https://bit.ly/2G1MB8V
Posted by Isabel Rosales on Tuesday, December 4, 2018
Burton, who left a day early to return to the U.S. while Carla decided to stay an extra day alone, said Martinez told her that Carla got into an Uber early morning on November 28, despite her flight not leaving until later in the afternoon.
“The guard told us that she left at 5 in the morning with all of her bags and got into an Uber. She wouldn’t do that; her flight was at 1:30 p.m. She’s never been early for anything in her life she wouldn’t leave to go to the airport at 5:30 a.m.,” Burton told ABC Action News.
According to police, Martinez, from Nicaragua, was an immigrant to Costa Rica, and had been staying there since June. Authorities indicated that he was working at the Airbnb without proper documentation. The Airbnb management is said to be cooperating with law enforcement.
Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.
[Feature Photo: Carla Stefaniak, Handout/Bismark Espinosa Martinez, Facebook]
