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Three arrested in case of murdered U.S. citizen in Osa

Three people, including a couple, was arrested in the case of a murdered woman in the Osa Peninsula. The Criminal Court of Golfito sentenced three Costa Ricans to six months of preventative detention while the investigation continues. Two men, one with the last name González and the other named Chaves, and a women with the last name Sánchez were arrested last Thursday.

U.S. citizen Lisa Artz, 49, was discovered semi-nude with duct tape bounding her arms and legs and over her mouth and eyes on the morning of July 20. She was caretaker at Tres Palmas, 18 kilometers southeast of Puerto Jiménez in the Southern Zone.

The investigation has identified four suspects, including a relative of an employee at Tres Palmas. The Judicial Investigation Police, or OIJ, believes that the worker alerted her relative that Artz planned to leave the country the following day. Artz planned on attending a a family reunion in Florida.

A laptop, iPod and power cables that Artz owned were found in a couple’s house, according to a statement from authorities. The list of items mentioned in the report does seem at odds with what Artz family members told The Tico Times several weeks ago. They said nothing was taken from Lisa Artz except her purse. However, they also mentioned nobody had cordoned off the crime scene.

The OIJ is still searching for the other suspects.

Artz, had worked at Tres Palmas for two decades. However, she only had been living in the area permanently since January.

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