Holbert and Reese - Left Horror in Panama
By TATIANA ROTHSCHUH and JOSÉ ADÁN SILVA (www.elnuevodiario.com.ni) - The photographs circulated via the internet about the alleged serial murderers who are wanted by Interpol, FBI, Panama OIJ and Police on suspicion of committing a string of crimes in Panama - confirm the pair are the same who were captured by the Army of Nicaragua in the area of the Sarapiqui post on the Rio San Juan. Contrary to the picture on the Internet - the big white guy with a short hair and close cropped blonde beard - he now appears to have tried to change his appearance with long curly brown hair and no beard. The woman retains the same appearance, with her hair pulled back. At the moment when the patrol from the Army of Nicaragua turned the couple over early yesterday morning, Colonel César Vladimir Peralta, the chief of the Military Detachment, with their belongings and documentation, showed copies of passports identifying them as being from the Netherlands. Their names were recorded as William Adolfo Cortez Reese and Jane Seana Cortez. False passports: As the military leader turned the pair over to Lieutenant Celso Ramirez, of the office of Immigration in San Carlos, both acknowledged that the copies of the passports were false, they said the people were Americans, and when asked questions by El Nuevo Diario, the gringo said "No Hablar" and immediately asked if he had a right to an attorney. Colonel Peralta said they would be handed over to immigration authorities in view of the confused situation regarding their true identity, and because they were not carrying any true or valid identification, whereupon the gringo quickly asked for paper and a pencil to write, he said their real names are William Dathan Holbert, 31 years old, and Laura Michelle Reese, 27 years old. (more)
The pair who were being chased by various security agencies were captured by troops from the Southern Military Detachment, stationed at the Sarapiqui checkpoint on the San Juan river, when they tried to flee after passing through Costa Rican territory, where they ignored a waterborne military checkpoint.
The theft of the panga: The American said he had boarded a boat, and threw the boat driver Victor Lau into the water at the moment when the Costa Rican public forces demanded to see their identification documents, but thanks to the rapid pursuit of the water patrol, they could not escape.
Among the documents found on the pair were various legal documents, plans for properties, stock certificates, and certifications of companies formed in Panama. In some of the notarized documents William is listed as the President and Jane Seana or Laura as the Secretary of the company Vikingo Motor Sports, S.A.. Another company created was Iguana Limited, which were registered between 2008 and 2009.
Hook and steal: According to Panamanian authorities, using these legal documents the pair posed as foreign investors interested in buying hotels and properties supposedly to be used for tourism, they attracted the interested parties, killed them and then buried them to get the property. Among the legal documents recovered include the papers on the property where the bodies were found of the people who were reported missing.
In addition to personal belongings, the pair had $6,755 in cash and a little more than 5,000 colones. A .22 caliber revolver, 35 rounds of ammunition for a .38 caliber revolver, as well as jewelry of great value, including personal items.
Panama Asks For Them: Yesterday it was officially reported from Panama that authorities from this country requested the extradition of the American couple to determine their responsibility for charges of murder. Deputy Attorney General Angel Calderon said yesterday his office has filed charges against the pair of homicide to the detriment of at least seven people, including Cher Hughes and Bo Icelar, whose bodies were unearthed in the yard of the residence of the couple in Avocado in the area of Cauchero in the province of Bocas del Toro. Calderon said that with this, Panama will have priority, when Nicaragua proceeds with the extradition of the couple. Costa Rica, according to military sources, also asked about the possibility of extraditing the couple on suspicion of crimes in the Central American country.
And while in Nicaragua they decide what to do with the two Americans, in Panama they continue to investigate the crimes, which led to the gruesome discovery of more than 40 human bones on the property in Bocas del Toro, in the Western part of Panama. Yesterday, Public Ministry officials found more bones in the grave where the skeleton of Bo Icelar was buried.
Looking for more bodies: Authorities returned today to the courtyard of Villa Cortez to make further excavations. The farm covers an area of 32 hectares, the bodies of Icelar and Hughes (the latter covered with a blue tarp) were buried at 340 meters from the main house. They are also checking a well, and a mound of earth between the graves of Icelar and Hughes. Is believed that this could be the bodies of Mike Brown, his wife and teenage son, and two Indians who were working in Villa Cortez. The prosecutors also realized there are several trees marked with ink. They suspect the marks were made by Wild Bill to locate certain things. He said that a luminol test (for blood) was positive at the residence of Cortez, in an inspection conducted on Sunday.
The prosecutor also revealed that the alleged murderer had an important heritage: four houses in Bocas del Toro and three in the Chiriqui highlands. He calculated these properties could have a total value of about $2 million dollars.
Internationalize Finger Prints: The Deputy Attorney General Assistant Attorney sent Cortez's fingerprints to investigative institutions such as Scotland Yard and the FBI, as well as similar agencies in the Netherlands, Denmark and Belgium, in order to establish his true identity, and to determine if they are wanted for any crime in these countries. Panama has already formally requested the extradition of William Cortez, alias "Wild Bill", and his wife Jane or Laura.
However, Nicaraguan authorities should determine under what profile they will give "Wild Bill" to Panama, which it was learned could happen under a police agreement between the two countries, or by the regular process of extradition. The first would take two days and the second about three months, as estimated by the Panamanian authorities.
While this procedure is performed, excavations continue at the Cortez residence, located in the province of Bocas del Toro, where three bodies were found buried, in search of more bones. The investigation has been joined by about 20 forensic experts, who are working to verify points of possible burials of victims, and they also expect the cooperation of the U.S. FBI of sniffing dogs trained to find human remains. "In one of the residences last night (Sunday) the Luminol test was positive, indicating that it is human blood in one of the residences, in fact, that has to do with this man, and where they found the remains of other people," said the prosecutor Calderon.
Panama had requested that Costa Rica arrest and extradite the couple, and the Costa Rican police tracked the suspects to the Rio San Juan, where they witnessed the arrest by the soldiers of the neighboring country. (http://www.elnuevodiario.com.ni/nacionales/79850)
