The investigation into the murder of Jose Rafael Llenas Aybar, 12, who was killed on 3 May, continued last week as changes of personnel in key positions in the justice system took place with the introduction of the new government of President Leonel Fernandez. Judge Alexis Henríquez Nuñez, who was given a 30-day extension by the Santo Domingo Court of Appeals to investigate the murder, continued his questioning last week.
Judge Henriquez Nuñez interviewed Colonel Rafael Bencosme Candelier, who at the time of the murder was the director of the Department for Homicide within the National Police. Col. Candelier led the initial investigation, which has been harshly criticized by many observers for not being sufficiently thorough, right from the time the boy’s body was found on 4 May near the Lebron river, between Santo Domingo and Jarabacoa.
Col. Bencosme Candelier is the second official to be questioned by Judge Henriquez Nuñez. On 19 July, General Carlos Reyes Mora, ex-chief of the now dismantled Central Investigation Command, was interviewed in connection with the case.
With new people in the National Attorney General’s office and the Foreign Ministry, it has now been revealed that the Argentine government was never officially informed of the alleged involvement in the case of the family of its former ambassador to the D.R., Teresa Meccia de Palma. Mrs. Meccia de Palma’s son, Martin Luis Meccia Palma, and husband Luis Palma were implicated in the murder by one of the confessed killers, Mario Jose Redondo Llenas, who has also incriminated Mr. Meccia Palma in the attempted kidnapping of an 18-year-old girl. Mrs. Meccia and her husband Luis left the country on 15 August, one day before President Fernandez took office.
In addition to the possible connection to the murder of the Palma-Meccia family, the National Directorate of Drug Control (DNCD) has been searching their farm very close to where young Jose Rafael’s body was discovered. Although no solid incriminating evidence has been found, the remains of burned documents were discovered on the property.
The new Foreign Minister, Eduardo Latorre, has promised to contact the Argentine government, which claims it has received no official advice about the case. The Meccia-Palma family lost its diplomatic immunity when Mrs. Meccia de Palma was relieved of her duties here as ambassador. Her husband and son would have to extradited with the permission of the government of Carlos Saul Menem in order to appear before Judge Henriquez Nuñez in Santo Domingo. The new Argentine ambassador, Adrian Guillermo Mirso, said his government is willing to cooperate with the investigation into the case through all diplomatic and legal channels.