6 suspects in Jairo Mora murder case receive 3 more months of preventative detention

Six of the suspects arrested for the murder of Costa Rican sea turtle conservationist Jairo Mora will remain in jail until at least May 1, the Limón Prosecutor’s Office said.

Ernesto Enrique Centeno, José Bryan Quesada, William Delgado, Donald Salmon, Héctor Cash and Felipe Arauz have been in preventative detention since their arrests in a Judicial Investigation Police raid on July 31, 2013. On Friday, a court in Limón ruled to extend their detentions while the investigation continues.

A seventh suspect, Darwin Salmon, was arrested later and will go before a judge on Feb. 9.

The prosecutor’s investigation is still in preparatory stages and no trial date has been announced.

In Costa Rica, suspects are sentenced to periods of preventive detention while prosecutors build a case. If those sentences expire, a judge can rule to extend them or release the suspects.

For a complete rundown on the Jairo Mora case, see our story: “Why Jairo died”