“And we couldn’t feel anything from this guy. This guy shook our hands, looks us in the eyes, he tells his fake story,” Caicedo said. Little did Caicedo know the man would turn out to be his sister’s suspected killer. US State Department officials were aware of the reports of a missing American in Costa Rica, a representative told CNN.ĬORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct attribution regarding Stefaniak’s activities before her death.ĬNN’s Deborah Bloom, Abel Alvarado, Duarte Mendonca, Steve Almasy and Natalie Gallon contributed to this report.When Carlos Caicedo went to Costa Rica to search for his missing sister, he shook hands with the security guard at the apartment where she was staying and listened to what the man knew, Caicedo told CNN affiliate WPLG. “The owners are fully cooperating with the authorities in the investigation and we hope that once the facts are determined, the perpetrator is brought to justice,” the attorney, who was not identified, told the Tampa station. The complex where Stefaniak had been stayed is temporarily closed, a lawyer for the site told CNN affiliate WFTS.

… For almost six days to go by and no contact, she would have to have been abducted.” “You never want to think the worst, but that’s where your mind goes to automatically. “That’s when we knew that something’s not right,” she said. Stefaniak and Burton had been texting each other via WhatsApp, Burton said. Stefaniak opted then to stay at a hostel closer to the airport before her flight the following day, her brother Carlos Caicedo told WSVN. April BurtonĪ day before she went missing, Stefaniak dropped Burton at the airport and returned their rental car. Stefaniak was friendly, bubbly and loved to travel, her sister-in-law said. Relatives raised the alarm last week, after Stefaniak stopped texting and phoning home and was not on her return flight from Costa Rica.Īpril Burton, her sister-in-law, told CNN the two had gone to Costa Rica to celebrate Stefaniak’s birthday and had traveled together for six days, staying in beach towns outside San Jose. The family later learned there were no records in Stefaniak’s Uber account from that day, Fernandez said.Īuthorities found the decomposed body around noon Monday in a wooded area of San Antonio de Escazu, Espinoza said.Īn autopsy showed multiple stab wounds to the “neck and upper extremities,” as well as blunt force trauma to the head, the spokesman said.Īuthorities also had found stains inside the apartment where Stefaniak was staying, “which are compatible with blood and which will be submitted to further investigation and comparison,” he said. “It was completely off because her flight was not until midday,” Fernandez told CNN affiliate WSVN. on November 28, as she got into an Uber to go to the airport. Stefaniak’s friend, Leandro Fernandez, said the security guard told Stefaniak’s relatives that he last saw her around 5 a.m.

“The person linked to this homicide (Espinoza Martinez) was close to her and had the time and place to commit the crime,” he said. Related article Authorities believe body found in Costa Rica is missing US womanĮspinoza Martinez was arrested Monday and is in jail because he is a flight risk, the spokesman said. He worked as a security guard at the Airbnb where Stefaniak was staying, they said. Nearly a week had passed since Stefaniak’s relatives and friends in Florida embarked on an international search after she failed to return from her birthday celebration in Costa Rica.Ī partially decomposed body was found Monday about 300 yards from the apartment complex where Stefaniak was staying in a province just outside the country’s capital of San Jose, said Walter Espinoza, a spokesman with the nation’s Judicial Investigation Department.Īuthorities believe it was Stefaniak but have not officially identified the remains, they have said.Ī suspect, Bismarck Espinoza Martinez, 32, is in custody in the case, officials said Tuesday during a news conference. We will always be with her and we know she will always be with us. “We will never forget the joy she brought into our lives, how much she made us laugh. Carla Stefaniak had been vacationing with her sister-in-law in Costa Rica.

Carla stefaniak bikini