Verde charged with Murder for brutal slaying of Ronnie Alamilla
The man who was picked up Wednesday afternoon for the disappearance of twenty-eight year old Sarteneja Hotel Manager, Ronnie Alamilla, has now been charged with his Murder. But the motive for the gruesome murder is yet to be established. Alamilla was reportedly last seen alive around eleven on Tuesday night with the accused, twenty-two year old fisherman, Cristino Verde.
Alamilla’s remains were found on a farm two miles south of Sarteneja, which belongs to Nazario Verde, father of the accused. His body was dismembered and charred. Two pieces of jewelry which Alamilla was wearing were identified by his family at the scene of the crime.
Sources tell News Five that Verde has since given a statement to police in the presence of a brother and a Senior Justice of the Peace. But while that may be the case, it is reported that Verde has been acting strange in the past several months and that he has had erratic spells. In his caution statement to police, Verde reportedly claimed that he had made plans with Alamilla on Tuesday morning to go hunting along with a third unnamed man. Verde claims he carried a shotgun when they both rode about two miles on his bicycle to an area near his father’s farm. In his statement to the police, Verde also claimed that when he heard a noise and spotted an animal, he cranked up, Alamilla volunteered to shoot and grabbed the gun from him. It accidentally discharged, hitting Alamilla in the abdomen. According to Verde’s statement, he took the wounded Alamilla on his bike to the farm where he died in his arms. Verde went on further to claim that he discovered a gallon containing fuel and decided to burn Alamilla’s body. He said halfway through that process he used a pickaxe to dismember the body parts and then lit two separate fires to complete burning the remains. Police have discovered a pickaxe along with farming equipment and while they have not yet recovered any shells, they say they do have a sixteen gauge shotgun on which they are conducting tests. A post mortem is also scheduled for tomorrow afternoon to determine the cause of death.
But while that is Verde’s account of the sequence of events, Alamilla’s family have an entirely different take. The Alamilla family has told police that Ronnie never went hunting. They believe he was killed elsewhere in the village and then transported to the farm where his remains were set on fire. Police have since verified with witnesses that Alamilla left his home shortly before eight Tuesday night and went to the village park where he met with another person. He received a call shortly after and told his friend he was leaving to meet Verde at the school grounds, which is the last place the two were seen together. Police say they have a hunch that Verde did not act alone in the slaughtering of Alamilla, who may have been murdered because of information on illicit activities in the village. Verde will be formally arraigned in the Corozal Magistrates’ Court tomorrow morning.
