Did Wilser Chavarria Kill Panamanian Diplomat?

Wilser Chavarria

Tonight, eighteen year old San Martin resident Wilser Chavarria is being held by Belmopan Police, and we are told he will be charged for murder by Wednesday. Chavarria is the only suspect in the murder of Panamanian diplomat, Jose Rodrigo de la Rosa Stanford, whose body was found on Sunday, with cut wounds on his neck, face and head. It was discovered by a farmer on his way from church, about one mile off the Hummingbird Highway in a remote location behind La Choza Bar. The murder spawned an intensive investigation, but even as Police search for a motive, they must deal with serious and very disturbing allegations being made against the murdered diplomat by Chavarria’s family. Mike Rudon was in Belmopan today and has the story.

Mike Rudon, Reporting

Sixty-four year old Jose Rodrigo de la Rosa Stanford was a career diplomat in his home country of Panama, and served as Chargé de Affaires in the mission in Belize. On Sunday at around four in the afternoon his body was discovered in this remote location, with cut wounds to his neck, and that day and the next Police investigators combed the area for evidence. By Monday evening Belmopan Police had made significant progress in the case, and relayed a primary report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, involved because of the status of the murder victim.

Wilfred Elrington

Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs

“When they discovered the body, they realized that there were two items that were missing. There was a cell phone and the Nissan vehicle that he was driving in. Both of those were missing. Before I left for home yesterday evening, we had been informed that they had recovered the cell phone, and that they should shortly be recovering the vehicle…that they had one person in custody and were looking for another person. And by early this morning, we were informed that they had in fact recovered the vehicle…they had recovered the cell phone as I said before, and they had one person in custody that they intended to charge.”

Wilser Chavarria is in custody, but at news time he has not been charged. Police are still seeking to record additional statements and to connect the dots. This morning the young man was in handcuffs and crying openly as he was allowed one minute to speak to his family inside the Police station. Outside, his girlfriend made a startling and disturbing allegation, one which took the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by surprise.

Voice of: Girlfriend of Wilser Chavarria

“He was defending himself because that man, diplomat or whatever, was a pervert. He wanted to rape him. He wanted to take advantage of him, so that’s why he defended himself. He had no choice.”

Wilfred Elrington

“This is the first time I am hearing any such allegations and I am particularly careful not to repeat allegations and not to speculate. It’s one of the things that I don’t like to do at all. I will never speculate, and I will not repeat allegations that are not substantiated by facts. I have not heard any of those allegations.”

Jose Rodrigo De La Rosa Stanford

Chavarria lives in San Martin with his girlfriend and two month old baby. She has her version of the events which led to murder in this remote location, a version told to her, she claims, by the eighteen year old when he came home on Sunday.

Voice of: Girlfriend of Murder Suspect

“He told me that he knew the man, he knows him from where he used to work, and so he meet him by the terminal. He was doing some shopping and the man offered him a ride and a drink. And then the man told him that he knew a nice place to take a drink and he took him to this place, like an isolated place where he didn’t know, and then he gave him another beer…then the man tried to touch him in his private parts, and then the man took out his gun when he didn’t want it…and then he like tried to rape him. And that’s when he saw a blade in his car and he cut him. He didn’t know where but he had to do it to defend himself because it was his life or the man’s life.”

The family claims they have no knowledge about the diplomat’s white Nissan Xtrail. They also say he is a good boy who has never been in any trouble with the Police, and only dropped out of fourth form because his girlfriend got pregnant. We reiterate that these are only the allegations of the family. Police have not spoken officially on the incident, and won’t until the investigation is complete and charges are laid. But the family, not surprisingly, maintains that it was self-defence, and wants the charges to reflect that.

Voice of: Girlfriend of Murder Suspect

“He reached home…like he didn’t tell me in the first minute, but I saw him weird, but he was shy to tell me what’s going on. He was confused because he is not like that. It is the first time he has done something like that. When the Police reached for him, he was getting ready to come to the station by his own self…when the Police arrive at home.”

We haven’t been able to confirm pertinent facts with the Police – like if the diplomat had a weapon, and if he does – was it found on him. We do know that Police say they have critical statements which still need to be taken, and charges will only be laid at that point. Mike Rudon for News Five.