Three men arrested in the case of the murder of Puerto Plata lawyer Paola Languasco Jimenez say they were paid to carry out the crime by Ambiorix Nepomuceno Rodriguez, a Dominican-Spanish citizen who left the country for Spain on 13 April 2015.
The men who were arrested were named as Lariel Pichardo Marte (Colita), Luciano Antonio Suriel Marmol (Gilberto) and Cristino Antonio Marlmol Nunez (Franklin). They led law enforcement officers to Languasco’s body on Friday, 24 April near Jardines el Norte where Rodriguez, the chief suspect, lived. Languasco’s family reported her missing on 6 April 2015. Her father, Leopoldo Languasco, said he has information that Rodriguez was living in Spain and had left the Dominican Republic to evade the Police and prosecutors.
The lawyer leaves three children, aged 12, 10 and 7.
The body was found on Prolongacion Padre Las Casas and taken to the National Forensic Institute (INACIF) for autopsy, as reported in Diario Libre.
The relatives have asked the Attorney General to extradite Rodriguez.
As reported in El Nacional, the Police said that Police Chief Major General Manuel Castro Castillo had discussed the case with the Interpol director in Spain.
Police spokesman Colonel Jacobo Mateo Moquete said that the Spanish authorities would arrest and deport Ambiorix Nepomuceno Rodriguez. He said that prosecutors in the Dominican Republic had followed the correct procedure when they released Rodriguez because there were no grounds for keeping him in detention at the time.
General Hector Garcia Cuevas, commander of the Santiago region, had identified Rodriguez as the mastermind. He was arrested and interrogated on 10 April, but the judge who heard the case ordered him to be left in the custody of an unnamed person and said he was required to return to court. Nonetheless, Rodriguez was able to leave the country and travel to Spain. His current whereabouts are unknown.