No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeArchiveSupreme Court Investigates Appeals Ruling on Volz Case

Supreme Court Investigates Appeals Ruling on Volz Case

The Supreme Court announced it has  opened an investigation of the two appellatejudges who overturned the murder sentence of U.S. citizen Eric Volz, who was freed from state custody Dec. 21 and left the country on a private flight heading to an undisclosed location.

Granada appellate judges Roberto Rodríguez and Alejandro Estrada were on a three-judge panel that last month overturned Volz’s 30-year prison sentence for the murder of his Nicaraguan ex-girlfriend, Doris Ivania Jimenez, who was found hogtied, raped and strangled in the back of her clothing boutique in San Juan del Sur on Nov. 21, 2006.

The decision to overturn Volz’s conviction, while at the same time upholding the conviction of Nicaraguan Julio Martin Chamorro, who was found guilty along with Volz last February, has outraged much of Nicaragua, and drawn the ire of President Daniel Ortega, the Supreme Court and even the Archbishop of Managua, among others (NT, Dec. 21).

Upon Volz’s release Dec. 21, his family released a statement saying he will now be kept in hiding “due to reports of threats against him.”

Family spokeswoman Melissa Campbell added, “We have reason to believe that he is being followed and are taking every precaution to assure his safety.”

Leonel Teller, spokesman of the Liberation Constitutional Party (PLC), alleged that Volz’s release – just hours before the government went on vacation for the Christmas holidays – was part of a political negotiation.

The Volz family spokeswoman did not respond by press time to The Nica Times’ requests for comment on that allegation.

Mercedes Alvarado, mother of the murder victim, has also alleged that political wranglings were at play, and has accused the Ortega government of employing antiimperialist rhetoric in public but buckling to U.S. pressures in the end.

Alvarado says that the two judges who freed Volz should now be put in jail to serve out his 30 year sentence. Judge Rodríguez, the only of the two to speak out on the issue, insists he did the right thing by freeing Volz (see letters page 7).

Volz, a former real estate agent and publisher of a Nicaraguan fashion magazine, is now presumably back in the United States, although he has not made any public appearances and his family has not released any statements since his release.

 

Trending Now

An Expat’s Take: 5 Burning Questions About Life in Costa Rica Right Now

Have you been keeping up with the various events taking place in Costa Rica? There is always something interesting going down, and here are...

Prisma Dental in Costa Rica Keeps Customers Happy and Smiling

I am 81 years old and have had teeth removed, bridges, and cavities fixed several times to sustain my ability to eat and function....

Costa Rica and Panama Seek Gold Cup Glory Against North American Giants

With no Caribbean teams advancing, a Central American contingent made up of Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala heads into the quarterfinals of the...

Costa Rica Maintains Economic Stability Amid Global Tensions

Costa Rica is holding steady economically despite global tensions sparked by conflicts involving Israel, the United States, and Iran, according to Federico Quesada Chaves,...

Costa Rican Court Orders Release of Migrants Deported Under Trump Deal

A court on Tuesday ordered Costa Rican authorities to release foreign migrants who had been detained in a shelter after being deported under an...

Costa Rica Surf Film Festival Honors ‘Pura Vida Bodysurfing’ with Top Audience Award

Pura Vida Bodysurfing is an award-winning short film that strips surfing back to its essence—riding waves without a surfboard. Filmed across Costa Rica’s legendary...
Avatar
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica