The family wondered why she would have taken a car to the airport at 5 a.m. But then he changed his story, according to Costa Rican media, and authorities scrutinized the details more. 28 and helped her put her bags into a taxi. Then came a break: the hotel guard said he’d last seen Stefaniak at 5 a.m. The family alerted Costa Rican authorities and launched a social media campaign to find her. 28 flight to Florida, the family discovered a troubling detail: she had checked in for her flight on the 26th. “Everything she did she always shared with friends and that’s when we knew definitely something was up as soon as we lost contact with her,” Demirel said.Īfter Stefaniak failed to board her Nov. She added that it was “pretty sketchy here” and included a picture of the Airbnb. 27.ĭemirel said she texted a friend that it was “raining crazy” and the power was out. Language wasn’t an issue Stefaniak was born in Venezuela, then moved to Tampa in 2000 with her family and finally settled in South Florida.Īfter her sister-in-law left, an Uber driver took her on a tour of San Jose, then dropped her off at the Airbnb around 5 p.m. Stefaniak reserved an Airbnb about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the airport in San Jose for her final night in the country. 27 - her birthday - Stefaniak’s sister-in-law returned home the two women had booked different return flights on different days. I’m going to miss the place □ #ilovecostarica #visitcostaricaĪ post shared by Carla Margarita on at 7:14pm PST Her trips included visits to Iceland, Switzerland and Mexico, all documented on social media.įor her birthday, she and her sister-in-law decided to visit Costa Rica for a short trip. Stefaniak, who was an insurance agent, loved to travel and post photos on Instagram. Villa Le Mas’s attorney, Federico Jenkins, said the owners are cooperating with the authorities in the investigation. He is believed to have lived in Costa Rica since June.Īirbnb removed Villa le Mas - a compound with seven vacation apartments - from its site and said Wednesday that it had reached out to family members to offer condolences. He said Carla was a “happy soul” who made everyone laugh and had a large social media presence.Įspinosa Martinez, a Nicaraguan immigrant, was working as a security guard at the complex despite lacking the proper documents to be in Costa Rica, department officials said at a news conference in San Jose. “What happened to Carla is just unimaginable,” friend Bugra Demirel of Tallahassee said in a telephone interview. Investigators said blood was found in his nearby apartment. At one point Rojas intervened, asking the father to calm down.Security guard Bismark Espinosa Martinez, 32, was arrested in the slaying after he contradicted himself in statements to police, the department said Wednesday. Caicedo had to fight back tears during the trial, according to video footage, and at one point he addressed Martínez directly, telling him to confess if he still considered himself a man. Her Carlos Caicedo traveled from his native Venezuela to testify in the trial, according to a report from Costa Rican news website. Much of her family still lives in the Tampa Bay area. The verdict marked the end of an emotionally charged trial for the family of Stefniak, who was born in Venezuela, moved to Tampa in 2000 and then to Miami in 2012. 18, 2020Ī security guard at a Costa Rican resort was found guilty Monday of killing Carla Stefaniak, a 36-year-old Florida woman who went missing during a birthday trip to the Central American country in November 2018.īismarck Espinoza Martínez, of Nicaragua, was then sentenced to 16 years in prison by a panel of local judges, Eduardo Rojas, Simón Guillén and José Alberto Vargas.
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