The National Police accused three men, 25-year old José Moreno Beltré, 21-year old Melkin Pérez Otaño and Manolo Pérez Soto (fugitive of justice) of murdering cinematographer Jean Louis Jorge. Jorge was found dead at his Gazcue apartment where he lived alone on 13 March. He was stabbed to death, the evening of 12 March after returning from filming beauty queens that would compete for the Miss Universe Dominicana and Miss World Dominicana titles at a Bavaro beach resort in the East. The Police says that José Moreno Beltré was a close friend of the deceased. The Police says the threesome sought to rob the victim, but that investigations are ongoing. The case now will be transferred to the judiciary for court hearings. The Police was on Moreno Beltré’s trail after a footprint was left in the bloodied floor of Jorge’s apartment. The Police arrested several persons known to be close friends of Jorge for investigation. Blood found in one of the shoes of Moreno led the Police to suspect his involvement. He was accused when the blood found on his shoe matched the DNA composition of the late Jorge. Melkin Pérez Otaño and Manolo Pérez Soto are former Police corporals that had been removed from the force accused of theft. They did time in the Najayo Jail where they met Moreno Beltré and became friends. Moreno was in jail on drug trafficking charges. According to the Police, Pérez Otaño confessed that his pal Moreno invited him and Pérez Soto to the home of Jorge to rob the later. He said that Jorge always had lots of cash on him. After arriving around 10:15 pm, Moreno stabbed the cinematographer, cueing his friends to come up and complete the robbery. The Police says they found the following items belonging to Jorge at Pérez Otaño home: two CD players, credit card, a pair of shoes, three rings, a gold chain, two cameras, a VHS player, cédula, and a Swiss Army watch. The Police denies the threesome is being framed. It said that three assistants of the District Attorney’s office were present during the questioning of the suspects. Jorge’s body was found around 2 pm of the next day by Manola Brea, a domestic worker who had about 15 years in his service. One of the better Dominican cinematographers and TV producers of all times, he was the son of a well-known cardiologist.
