The confessed killers of Jose Rafael Llenas Aybar, the 12-year-old boy who was founded stabbed to death on 4 May, have been transferred from the Palace of Justice in Santo Domingo to the Najayo jail in San Cristobal. Mario Jose Redondo Llenas (cousin of the victim) and Juan Moline Rodriguez, both 19, were not taken to La Victoria prison in the National District for fear that they would be assaulted and/or killed by other inmates, who according to the Listin Diario newspaper expressed their indignation over the murder that has held the public’s attention for over a week. Since 8 May, the two have been held in the same cell in Najayo where Anisia Rissi de Mercedes, who was accused of involvement in a fraud in the Customs Department totaling over RD$1000 million, spent the first half of 1995. Both of the accused will now wait for the preliminary ruling by Judge Alexis Henríquez Nuñez of the Instruccion de la Séptima Circunscripción.
Although the original confession made by Mario Redondo mentioned his bitterness towards his uncle and the boy’s father over an inheritance from their grandfather, and of an alleged plot to kidnap Jose Rafael, take him to Jarabacoa and then demand a ransom of RD$10 million, speculation has abounded about other possible motives. The police have denied the version circulated by some people that the murder was part of a Satanic ritual. Some have hinted that the boy might have been sexually assaulted by one or both of the 19-year-olds, who would have then feared that Jose Rafael might go to the police. As neither of the accused have been allowed to talk to their lawyers, no version other than the one given in the public confession can be confirmed. The police have also publicly questioned where exactly the boy was killed, as the boot of the car, where the accused claim to have put the victim after the killing in order to conceal his body far from the capital, contained little blood.
17-23 May 1996