GUILTY COSTA RICA - Carla Stefaniak, 36, American tourist, San Antonio de Escazú, 27 Nov 2018

Welcome to Websleuths!
Click to learn how to make a missing person's thread

DNA Solves
DNA Solves
DNA Solves

New Posts

Mica said:
From the article.....just terrible. Possibly a gang rape?

Snip..

In fact, the doubt extends to that there may be up 3 or 4 possible people involved. Authorities are not revealing much, this conclusion is based on forensic analysis of the body.

Also, investigators are working on a version of a guest who would have heard noises coming from victim’s villa, furniture being moved and cleaning inside the villa. This, allegedly occurring hours after the victim would have been murdered.

When the OIJ entered the villa on December 3, they found it had been cleaned. A lawyer speaking on behalf of the owners of the property said other guests had stayed in the villa after Carla. The reason for the cleaning.

However, using luminol, forensic examiners found traces of blood.

Deathblow

Carla was killed between Tuesday niight, November 27 and Wednesday, November 28. Relatives and friends say the last they heard of Carla was on the night of the 27th. After that her cellular phone and her social media activity went dark.

Investigators say the motive was sexually motivated. Apparently Carla was killed in an attempted sexual assault. As the woman defended herself, she was wounded with a knife, receiving cuts to her upper extremities and beaten.

The death blows came from a metal pipe to head, which caused her to have a stroke.
Click to expand...
How awful. There are no words.
 
Sad to see this case started to lose steam on here now that most of the facts are in. :(
Its been some interesting conjecture back and forth.[/QUOTE]

As a friend of Carla's, I too am sad to see this thread lose steam. I'm not sure all the facts are in though as we wait to find out whether this was committed by more than one person. The forensic analysis of the bodily fluids found on her should give us answers to that question in the upcoming weeks.

Also, I have been looking into the circumstances of the discovery of a woman's dismembered body 3 weeks before Carla was killed just down the street (only 3 miles) from where Carla was killed. Seeing it on a map made my hair stand up. If you were to leave the AirBNB in the direction away from the populous area of Escazu, it is a direct route of 3 miles to the first unpopulated isolated rural area where the other woman was found. Her name was Stephannye Castro Mora (SCM). I came onto Websleuths hoping there would be more information of possible links to Carla's death.

Circumstances: 28 year old SCM called her mother before work in the morning of 11/2 to say she was going to come home for a visit that evening. She called around 6pm when she got off work as a security guard to say she was going to run home to grab her things to get on the road for her 4 hour drive to her mother's house. Nobody heard from her since. She lived close to the city center of San Jose in Barrio Mexico and I have not been able to determine where she worked as a security guard. In that regard, I have not been able to determine if her work as a security guard would have put her in contact with Carla's killer (BEM). Friends and family say she did not live a high risk life and was not involved in any gang or drug activity at all. She was openly a lesbian and would not have been receptive to any male advances. (And here, I am not at all insinuating that Carla would have been. She absolutely would not have been flirtatious or leading on or receptive to any advances from the security guards at the AirBNB. She was friendly and treated everybody kindly.) Her body was found Nov 7th I believe. She had been dismembered and the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. I read somewhere she was sexually assaulted but have not been able to find that again.

I don't know how to upload a map image to show how close they were in proximity. You can see on google maps if you look for directions from Villa Buena Vista Costa Rica to La Cabana de Bebedero San Jose. See both regular map and satellite image for why it looks so significant. I find it hard to believe there was more than one monster in the exact same place 3 weeks apart.

If the monster that killed Carla is responsible for other tragedies, I want him to pay for all of them. The punishment for murder isn't as strong in CR as the US so I want to get him on everything he's ever done with the hopes of a more prolonged sentence. I would love to hear what you sleuthers think about this.
 

Attachments

  • Satellite Map Carla Stephannye.jpg
    Satellite Map Carla Stephannye.jpg
    235.7 KB · Views: 23
Welcome to WS, NotGoNN. I am very sorry about the loss of your dear friend Carla.

Family and friends need to continue to put pressure on the CR officials to follow through in this case. There has been nothing new reported in the media.

I need to do more research into the other death you mention. You've come to the right place. We have great researchers here.
 
As a friend of Carla's, I too am sad to see this thread lose steam. I'm not sure all the facts are in though as we wait to find out whether this was committed by more than one person. The forensic analysis of the bodily fluids found on her should give us answers to that question in the upcoming weeks.

Also, I have been looking into the circumstances of the discovery of a woman's dismembered body 3 weeks before Carla was killed just down the street (only 3 miles) from where Carla was killed. Seeing it on a map made my hair stand up. If you were to leave the AirBNB in the direction away from the populous area of Escazu, it is a direct route of 3 miles to the first unpopulated isolated rural area where the other woman was found. Her name was Stephannye Castro Mora (SCM). I came onto Websleuths hoping there would be more information of possible links to Carla's death.

Circumstances: 28 year old SCM called her mother before work in the morning of 11/2 to say she was going to come home for a visit that evening. She called around 6pm when she got off work as a security guard to say she was going to run home to grab her things to get on the road for her 4 hour drive to her mother's house. Nobody heard from her since. She lived close to the city center of San Jose in Barrio Mexico and I have not been able to determine where she worked as a security guard. In that regard, I have not been able to determine if her work as a security guard would have put her in contact with Carla's killer (BEM). Friends and family say she did not live a high risk life and was not involved in any gang or drug activity at all. She was openly a lesbian and would not have been receptive to any male advances. (And here, I am not at all insinuating that Carla would have been. She absolutely would not have been flirtatious or leading on or receptive to any advances from the security guards at the AirBNB. She was friendly and treated everybody kindly.) Her body was found Nov 7th I believe. She had been dismembered and the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. I read somewhere she was sexually assaulted but have not been able to find that again.

I don't know how to upload a map image to show how close they were in proximity. You can see on google maps if you look for directions from Villa Buena Vista Costa Rica to La Cabana de Bebedero San Jose. See both regular map and satellite image for why it looks so significant. I find it hard to believe there was more than one monster in the exact same place 3 weeks apart.

If the monster that killed Carla is responsible for other tragedies, I want him to pay for all of them. The punishment for murder isn't as strong in CR as the US so I want to get him on everything he's ever done with the hopes of a more prolonged sentence. I would love to hear what you sleuthers think about this.
Click to expand...

Wow, definitely could be the same killer! The security guard connection gave me chills up my spine when I read that. They could have worked for the same company.
 
Mica said:
Welcome to WS, NotGoNN. I am very sorry about the loss of your dear friend Carla.

Family and friends need to continue to put pressure on the CR officials to follow through in this case. There has been nothing new reported in the media.

I need to do more research into the other death you mention. You've come to the right place. We have great researchers here.
Click to expand...

Thank you Mica, very kind. I used to be active on this site many years ago. I believe it was during the Scott Peterson case. Just returning now due to what happened to Carla. I want justice for her and for anyone else this monster or monsters have hurt.
 
stg said:
Latest update is she may have been killed by multiple people:

American tourist may have been killed by multiple people in Costa Rica, report says
Click to expand...

There has been complete silence out of CR about this case. I do believe others were involved, IMO. It’s been stated the security guard knew Carla was coming. Can’t remember where I saw that. But if he did, I wouldn’t be surprised if he rounded up some of his buddies to do the dirty deed. When Carla fought them off, she was killed. Carla had the body type of the kind of women he liked based on his Likes on his FB.

Maybe the security guard will talk. Although maybe not since I’m not confident he will get the sentence he deserves. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s deported back to Nicaragua.
 
Mica said:
Snip

“In fact, the doubt extends to that there may be up 3 or 4 possible people involved,” the family wrote in a message Thursday night. “We have been saying this since day 1. This was organized by more than one person as soon as Carla booked the place.”

More Involved in Death of Miami Woman in Costa Rica: Family
Click to expand...

Omg!!! Mica and Elainera: are they saying this crime might have been planned from when she booked online or when she checked in?!! That is terrifying. That poor woman. So beautiful and full of life. This crime is one of the worst I have read about. I am beyond disgusted. My deepest condolences to all who loved her.
 
Elainera said:
With these latest reports (more than one person involved) I'm reminded of one of her last messages describing the place as "sketchy". Maybe she saw several males hanging around who did not look like guests.
Click to expand...
Perhaps, I also believe people can have an intuition of being in danger, without any concrete explanation. Maybe it's our in-built instinct for self-protection picking up extremely subtle clues that something isn't what it seems, like the way the security guard greeted her.

I hope whatever happened was over quickly.
 
NotGoNN said:
Thank you Mica, very kind. I used to be active on this site many years ago. I believe it was during the Scott Peterson case. Just returning now due to what happened to Carla. I want justice for her and for anyone else this monster or monsters have hurt.
Click to expand...

I am so sorry for the loss of Carla, she seemed like a great person.

I too, thought that others who stayed at the same Airbnb should be interviewed, did they have any issues? This situation may not have been this monster's first time.
 
oceanstarryeyes said:
Why did the sister-in-law leave a day early?
<modsnipped to match poster's last edit>
Click to expand...

From People magazine:
After (April) Burton (sister-in-law) left to return home early for a family obligation, Stefaniak opted to stay in Costa Rica.
Click to expand...

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/people....ta-rica-family-goes-morgue-identify-body/amp/

April and Carla had been staying at a hotel far from the airport, the Airbnb was closer. April said that CR seemed safe while they were together there.

ETA: I think most predators look for females that are alone. Carla booked into an Airbnb that promised 24-hour security guards and safety. She booked ubers and stayed in close contact with her loved ones.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Just pointing out that I quoted @oceanstarryeyes post in its entirety before she edited it, those aren’t my words in the top quote.

Sorry, ocean- it was too late for me to edit my post to reflect your changes!
 
I was just wondering was the sister in laws original itinerary to leave a day earlier leaving Carla there alone?
That would be strange?

When did they switch hotels?
 
oceanstarryeyes said:
I was just wondering was the sister in laws original itinerary to leave a day earlier leaving Carla there alone?
That would be strange?

When did they switch hotels?
Click to expand...


Yes the sister-in-law planned to leave a day early due to a prior commitment. Carla wanted to stay the extra day to celebrate her birthday. They checked out of the resort where they had been staying and Carla drove her sister-in-law to the airport and returned their rental car. Carla then took an Uber to the Airbnb location.
 
Mica said:
Yes the sister-in-law planned to leave a day early due to a prior commitment. Carla wanted to stay the extra day to celebrate her birthday. They checked out of the resort where they had been staying and Carla drove her sister-in-law to the airport and returned their rental car. Carla then took an Uber to the Airbnb location.
Click to expand...
Also-IIRC -Carla first planned the trip with a friend who had to cancel, so the SIL took her place.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is DeKalb County John Doe (2022)?

Members online

... and 69 more.
Total: 2,021 (members: 70, guests: 1,951)

Online statistics

Members online
70
Guests online
1,951
Total visitors
2,021
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
605,411
Messages
18,186,674
Members
233,355
Latest member
frankiterranova
Back
Top