Suspect identified in Costa Rica murder of two U.S. women

March 16, 2000
Web posted at: 3:04 p.m. EST (2004 GMT)

In this story: No arrests, but man under surveillance Girls met suspect in beach town, officials say RELATED STORIES, SITES

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (CNN) -- Costa Rican officials investigating the slayings of two U.S. women in a Caribbean resort have identified a suspect.

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The suspect was a friend of the 19-year-old victims, Jorge Rojas, the director of the Organismo de Investigacion Judicial, said Thursday. The OIJ investigates all crime in the country.

The victims have been identified as Emily Howell of Lexington, Kentucky, a student at Antioch College working on a photography project, and Emily Eagen of Ann Arbor, Michigan, a friend and former student at the Ohio school, who was visiting Howell.

No arrests have been made in the case, and Rojas would not release details on the suspect other than to say he is young and from the Punta Arenas area, on the Pacific side of the country. He said the OIJ is keeping the man under surveillance.

Under a recently enacted law in Costa Rica, police must have strong evidence of a suspect's guilt before they can make an arrest.

The women's bodies were found along a highway near the town of Cahuita, about 145 kilometers (90 miles) east of San Jose, the capital. Their rented SUV was found burning near their bodies.

Police said two boys who allegedly helped the suspect burn the car were being questioned; one of them appeared to have been treated for burns.

The girls apparently met the suspect at 10 p.m. Sunday in the beach town of Limon, said Rogelio Ramos, Costa Rica's minister of security. The town is popular with tourists.

Their bodies were found at 1:30 p.m. Monday. One was nude; the other had had some of her clothing removed. Neither had been robbed, but both appeared to have been assaulted sexually, police said.

Lab tests were being carried out Thursday to determine whether the women had been raped, Ramos said. Results were expected Friday or Saturday.

The two women had been shot in the head, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday. One of the women had also been shot in the back and shoulder.

On Thursday, the FBI's Miami office offered its assistance, and Ramos said Costa Rican investigators would accept if it proved necessary.

The U.S. State Department last November issued a country report on Costa Rica that warned of an increase in crime.

Antioch College student, friend shot dead in Costa Rica
March 15, 2000

Antioch College
Embassy of the United States - San Jose, Costa Rica

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