Authorities in Costa Rica arrested three people on Wednesday in connection with the killing of a European couple whose bodies turned up buried on their property in Quepos last month. The suspects, two Costa Rican men and a Colombian woman, face charges tied to a plot driven by greed over the victims’ land.
The victims, Rüdiger Schickhaus, a 60-year-old German, and his 57-year-old Austrian wife Manuela Daxer, had settled in Costa Rica three years ago seeking a quiet retirement. They bought a sprawling 50,000-square-meter estate in Cerros de Quepos, Puntarenas province, complete with a remodeled 550-square-meter home, four bedrooms, a natural pool, and lush grounds fed by a stream. The couple poured their savings into the place after selling off assets back home, drawn to the area’s warm weather and natural setting.
Trouble started when they decided to sell the property, listing it for around 500 million colones, or about one million dollars. Investigators say the suspects approached them with an offer, signing an option to buy but failing to make the required deposit.
What followed was a brutal attack. The couple reportedly spent time with the suspects before the violence erupted. Schickhaus suffered a single gunshot wound, while Daxer took three bullets. Their bodies, bound and hidden in a shallow grave in the backyard, came to light in September after a tip led police to the site. Officers found the house scrubbed clean but still bearing bloodstains.
The Judicial Investigation Agency, known commonly here as OIJ, zeroed in on the suspects through witness accounts, video footage, and forensic clues. Today, agents raided homes in La Unión de Cartago and Curridabat in San José, nabbing the three.
Leading the group were a 31-year-old man named Elizondo, who worked in real estate, and his 33-year-old partner Rubio, the Colombian woman. A 25-year-old accomplice, Sanabria, helped carry out the deed. Police seized phones, papers, and items belonging to the victims as evidence.
Prosecutors point to robbery as the clear motive, with the suspects aiming to grab the land without paying. Rubio took part in the scheme but did not directly commit the killings, according to officials. The detainees now await court decisions on their status while the probe continues.
This case has rattled locals here in Quepos, a coastal town known for its tourism and fishing, and drawn eyes from Europe where the couple’s families grieve. It highlights risks for foreigners retiring abroad, even in spots pitched as safe havens. OIJ leaders stress the arrests mark progress, but questions linger on whether others played a role.
