Now, back in town with his role in the trial over for him, he said something different. The young woman's boyfriend says he was also attacked, as local sources blame another European tourist. It's better this way, she whispered. But the people of San Juan had made up their minds: At Big Wave Dave's, the long-haired beauties tending bar began casually rebuffing expat advances with the simple and musical refrain Gringos son asesinos. Gringos are murderers. One expat woman, who would not allow her name to be published, told me that she once pursued a restraining order against Chamorro after a violent encounter; when I asked him about it, he said that she'd hit him first. The official police report states that the perpetrators undressed her to rape and sodomize her, then put her clothes back on because of a sentimental attachment, and finally hog-tied her the way she was found. EPA. This was a "blind point" - an unpatrolled area of the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Ortega, after all, led the nationalization of private property following the 1979 revolution, which overthrew U.S.-backed dictator Anastasio Somoza. That premise quickly fell apart as the police issued warrants for four men. San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua, is a fishing-and-tourist town of colorfully painted wooden homes laid out on lazy Pacific-coast streets where bicycles outnumber vehicles, where kids set up goal. When police arrived at the hotel, they found a man who was not a guest at the establishment. The men go out in their narrow pangas for tuna, for roosterfish, for bonito, for whatever they can pull in on their handlines. Eric wasn't even her first American boyfriend. But what made this case so dramatic was the fourth suspect: Jimnez's ex-boyfriend, a 28-year-old expat from Nashville, Tennessee, named Eric Stanley Volz. I'm broke now. 'Little town, big hell.' Students have been at the forefront of the anti-government protests. Eric didn't do it. Downward spiral: Nicaragua's worsening crisis. He was being held in the Granada penitentiary, a facility off the highway that houses 800 prisoners on small grounds. Dangla said Volz gave him 50 cordobas and sped off in the direction of Managua. The call lasted nearly an hour. The cramped gallery was separated from the prosecution and defense tables by a narrow wooden rail. Rojas presented an impassioned closing statement. More than $400 million in foreign investment has poured in. That is the way I start each day. Nicaragua Tourism: Best of Nicaragua Essential Nicaragua Stay A mix of the charming, modern, and tried and true. Thompson knew Jimnez three years longer than he knew Volz; he says what everyone says that she was nice. By Cindy Regidor (Confidencial) HAVANA TIMES - When Marbelly Saravia said goodbye to her sister and left her by an orange grove, she got an "ugly feeling". I had only two real questions left: Would the judge find a way to convict Chamorro even though she would have to let Volz go? If Volz's conviction was upheld, the final decision will be decided by the Nicaraguan Supreme Court.) During the rainy season, the road is an axle-bending, suspension-wrecking gash through the rainforest, but, to be fair, once the rains stop and the government grader comes through, you can get into third gear. Eric had said to me, 'Dad, do not come over here; there are guys with clubs.' The Ortega of today is not the Ortega of the past; he has been actively reassuring investors that the favorable business climate here will not change. For 40 minutes, she allowed me to sift through the nearly 400 pages of documents while two of her staff looked on. Alvarado burst into tears and said, Thank God! Its murder rate is 41.2 homicides per 100,000 people, the fifth-highest in the world. In official physical exams recorded in the files, the police say that both Chamorro and Dangla bore fingernail scratches on their arms. A lot of the expats in San Juan, Volz explained, quite frankly, I don't connect with them. SIX months ago, tourists flocked to the Central American paradise of Nicaragua to race down volcanoes on thin, wooden boards, explore its Caribbean coast and watch turtles heave themselves onto black sand beaches under cover of moonlight. Purdy went first, testifying through a court translator that he'd been in phone and instant-message conversations with Volz throughout the time of the murder, which Castillo confirmed, testifying that he was actually in the EP office with Volz. Home to the second biggest barrier reef in the world, beaches, and sparkling turquoise sea, as well as a whole host of Mayan ruins, amazing coffee, and the second largest rainforest in the Americas, Honduras is extremely biodiverse: there are 770 bird species alone.. With the influence of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the territory that today is known as the Caribbean of Nicaragua, the Mosquitia Kingdom was born in 1633 as a protectorate that was led by Miskito Amerindians in alliance with the British. Chamorro was stoic. So I could see how they could see me being an arrogant person. Eric Volz in a visiting room in the Modelo National Penitentiary, outside the Nicaraguan town of Tipitapa, March 27, 2007. Do you think this could happen to anyone? I asked him. In December, I drove out to one of the bigger new projects, Cantamar at Playa Yankee. Gringo, chele, norteamericano for us Nicaraguans it's all the same thing.. San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua, is a fishing-and-tourist town of colorfully painted wooden homes laid out on lazy Pacific-coast streets where bicycles outnumber vehicles, where kids set up goal markers out of rocks for afternoon games of ftbol, where locals pass the evenings exchanging gossip on their stoops or attending mass. The day before the trial, the Volz family asked visitors to their Web site to pray for the safety of all involved in and surrounding the trial: Eric, witnesses, press, attorneys, bystanders, security, police; Health of one of Eric's key defense team who is sick with the flu; Judge; Doris's mother & family; That the trial is swift and that Eric will be free on Friday!. As Volz left the arraignment, the mob saw through the ruse and rushed him. Tourist card at airport. A New York college student's convicted killer has been sentenced to a maximum of 30 years in prison in Nicaragua where he fled after the murder. Their close partnership lasted well into 2005. I never felt good about this guy. Volz, for his part, says Jimnez was never close to her mother. What quickly transpired, however, was anything but positive. File Photo courtesy of Underwood & Underwood/Wikimedia. A couple punches flew out of the side, Volz told me. In the coming days, the shocking details of what was alleged to have happened were splashed in tawdry headlines in El Nuevo Diario, the left-leaning national paper. Volz was calm and collected. The security guard. He had scratches. The magazine, as he wrote in his first publisher's letter, would be devoted to everything from the explosion of surf culture to local anxiety over the oncoming waves of foreigners, construction, and the almighty dollar. Professional, bilingual, and printed on expensive paper, the premiere edition appeared in July 2006, boasting a 20,000-copy run, a viable presence in five countries, and a look to rival Vogue. You just have to you close your eyes, just have faith, and you pray. He has a cellmate. Two days before Volz's December 7 arraignment in Rivas, a car with loudspeakers circled through San Juan exhorting people to bring justice to the gringo! A huge crowd jeered as he was escorted into the courthouse; during the hearing, a woman outside could be heard shouting, Come out, gringo, we are going to murder you! Expecting the worst, Volz and the U.S. Embassy regional security officer, Michael Poehlitz, exchanged clothes while Volz's father, Jan, who'd flown in from the States, looked on. She's not coming back. Depending on your nationality, you may need a tourist visa to enter Nicaragua. I then quietly go downstairs to check my e-mail for any news from our attorneys or a message from someone who is sending us love or support., Volz was able to contribute one posting himself, on January 4. The spot was deserted. The Hertz delivery driver's testimony and the rental agreement signed by Leidy de los Santos had called Volz's alibi into question. A Nicaraguan national, Bismarck Espinoza Martinez, 32, has been taken into custody in connection to Stefaniak's death, according to Costa Rican officials. Face masks should be worn in public areas. His family told Fox News that he had been traveling by himself and he was in good health. We are friends of her family, they explained. Jeremy Kryt Updated Dec. 24, 2021 1:59AM ET / Published Dec. 23, 2021 11:35PM ET Earnest and crew-cut, with fluent Nicaraguan-accented Spanish, Thompson, 32, now directs the upscale Pelican Eyes resort's A. Jean Brugger Foundation, which provides educational opportunities to students. I used to see Eric surfing., In other words, Roque didn't want to talk about it. It's a town that is hurt, he explained. If you decide to travel to Nicaragua: Read the Department of State's COVID-19 page before planning any international travel, and read the Embassy COVID-19 page for country-specific COVID-19 information. Yeah, I knew her at the beach, when I'd pass her shop. US EMBASSY ADVISES ACCUSED GRINGO TO KEEP QUIET. The case for Volz's innocence seemed obvious, irrefutable. Geographic coordinates: 13:00 North, 85:00 West.. READ MORE 0. Hello world! Nicaragua is far cheaper than its neighbors Costa Rica and Panama, but it's just as full of adventures. Dangla was now the prosecution's principal witness. Toxicology put Jimnez's blood alcohol content at 0.3, a bizarrely high level. Chamorro was never called; the statement he would later recant did not factor into the trial in any significant way. Then I saw the cops. However, despite being popular as a tourist destination, Nicaragua is one of the most dangerous places to travel due to its epidemic of civil and political unrest, sky-rocketing crime rate, and poor health care facilities. The courtroom was small, frigid with air conditioning. Gatherings like this are ubiquitous in Central America; I passed it off as a religious event, a Purisima procession of a statue of the Virgin. tourist murdered in nicaragua. At roughly 2:45, Volz received a call informing him of Jimnez's death; more calls would quickly come in confirming it. He worked in carpentry, took classes at Lake Tahoe Community College, DJ'd at a local bar, and built a reputation as an exceptional free climber. On the stand, he had adamantly said that he did not know Jimnez at all beyond seeing her now and again. Wedged between Costa Rica and Honduras, Nicaragua is a good all-round destination. In testimony that made everyone in the courtroom laugh even the judge the excitable and often confused Dangla again and again couldn't follow simple directions to hold the microphone up to his mouth. It's not hard to see why there's an air of expat guilt about what's going on here. 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