TV host Claudio Nasco murdered
The Police have arrested three men accused of the murder of 37-year old Cuban-born TV host Claudio Nasco on Friday, 13 December. As reported, Nasco had left his home at 8pm that evening and was scheduled to work at the TV station where he anchored a late news program, but he never got there. His body was then found at the motel.
The Police say that the three suspects demanded that Nasco pay a RD$25,000 debt. National District prosecutor Yeni Berenice Reynoso has called for an in-depth investigation into the causes of the murder.
In a press release, the Convergencia Nacional de Abogados (CONA) legal group warned: "The three accused could be scapegoats to ensure the impunity of the real criminals."
The late Nasco was a leading presenter on NCDN, Channel 2, working with the news team put together by Nuria Piera for the TV and radio network.
The suspects reportedly said that when together at the Cabana Chevere, where the body was found on Friday, there was a disagreement about the debt that led to violence. The Police said that the accused admitted to tying up the journalist's hands and feet and causing the injuries that caused his death. They are named as Oscar Perez (Yandel), 19, Luis Manuel Estevez Ponciano (Macuto or Anderson) 20, and Josel Rafael Miliano Rodriguez (Pateo) 18. Nasco's lifeless body was found by cleaning staff at the hotel on Friday evening. He was bound and gagged in Room No. 11 of the motel located on Avenida 30 de Mayo in Santo Domingo.
During a press conference, Police spokesman Jacobo Mateo Moquete said that the arrested said that they made contact with the victim after Nasco called Perez (Yandel) by mobile to agree on meeting at the place where he was murdered.
Mateo said that the Police suspect pre-meditated murder because the suspected killers were in possession of the knife, toy gun with cement and a roll of adhesive tape. The National Forensic Institute has yet to give the results of the autopsy.
The Police said that the men who were arrested confessed that after the killing they left on board the victim's white Nissan Murano, which they subsequently abandoned on Km. 12 on nearby Carretera Sanchez. They took a bag containing the victim's clothes, his wallet and RD$4,000, several credit and debit cards with passwords they had obtained by threatening the deceased. After the murder, they used one of the cards at a bank branch where they secured RD$15,000 in cash. They then used another card at an ATM in Manoguayabo where the bank retained the card. The three men described how they shared the money between themselves and each returned to their own homes in Hato Nuevo, Manoguayabo and Santo Domingo West. The suspects say they set fire to the cell phones.
As reported, when Perez (Yandel) was arrested, he was in possession of a wallet with RD$16,000, a credit card and cell phone as well as a black bag with some of the clothes used on the evening of the killing. He also had a 16-inch knife suspected to have been used in the killing.
When Estevez Ponciano was arrested he had RD$6,000 and a cell phone. Milano Rodriguez had RD$2,000 and the victim's wallet, with three different bank credit cards and other belongings.
The motel said that the late TV presenter arrived at the cabana around 7:55pm and just booked the room. One hour later, according to the registry of the staff, the vehicle left. The cleaning staff then found the body in the Jacuzzi.
Claudio Nasco first came to the Dominican Republic to study at the Catholic seminary in Jarabacoa. He spent four years studying for the priesthood before deciding celibacy wasn't for him. He then moved to TV journalism, working with CDN with Fernando Hasbun and Alicia Ortega, with whom he moved to the SIN news station. He went on to work in public relations with the business group, before returning to journalism at NCDN.
El Caribe ? La Polic?a explica como se produjo la muerte de Claudio Nasco
Deuda de RD$25 mil habr?a sido causa de asesinato de Claudio Nasco - DiarioLibre.com
Hallan jeepeta del locutor asesinado - Almomento.net: Periodico Digital Dominicano
Acusados de asesinato habr?an reclamado a Claudio Nasco pago deuda RD$25 mil - Acento
Claudio Nasco periodista de NCDN encontrado muerto, amordazado y apu?alado en jacuzzi de caba?a - Hola Pol?tica
Advierte acusados por la Polic?a de matar a Claudio Nasco pudieran ser "chivos expiatorios"