The Murder of Shannon Martin

For this case I watched an episode of Murder in Paradise. It’s season 1 episode 5, titled ‘Student Body.’

A college student studying abroad in Costa Rica is killed after a night out.

Background

Shannon Lucile Martin was born on December 30, 1977. She lived in Topeka, Kansas, and was just a week away from graduating from Kansas University when her life was tragically taken.

Shannon was described as friendly, genuine and adventurous. She was also very close to her family and friends.

The Exchange Program

In 2000, Shannon was one of 13 students to go to Golfito, Costa Rica, as part of a student exchange program through the university. Shannon fell in love with Golfito, a remote town with beaches and rainforests.

Shannon spent six months studying the flora and fauna. She also was collecting a rare type of fern, only found in the rainforests. Shannon wrote about her trip in her diary, and explained how beautiful Costa Rica was, and that she’d be back soon.

On May 11, 2001, she did return for a week long stay. She continued her search for the rare ferns, and told her mom she’d be back just in time for her graduation the following Sunday.

The Murder

On May 12, 2001, around 10pm, Shannon went to a party at a local bar called Jurassic Bar. She caught up with her old friends, and some of the locals she knew, including a man named Reiner, the bar owner. Reiner later said that Shannon had a few drinks and enjoyed dancing the night away.

In the early morning hours of May 13, Shannon was discovered dead, just 200 yards from the bar. A woman had discovered her, and told Reiner that someone was dead. It took the local police an hour to show up after someone called them.

Shannon had been stabbed around 14 times, one cut was to the neck. It was determined that it wasn’t a robbery, Shannon still had her purse with money in it. However, one of her earrings was missing. There was also a piece of black fabric near her body, and Shannon had a clump of black hair in her hand. No murder weapon was found.

The First Suspects

On May 13, 2001, around 6:30am, Jeanette Stauffer, Shannon’s mom received a call from the U.S. Embassy. Jeanette had been told on Mother’s Day, that her daughter had been murdered.

The Golfito police were questioning anyone they could about what happened to Shannon. A local woman said she a local drug dealer named Luis ‘Caballo’ Cruz (some reports say his last name is Castro) leave the area in a taxi shortly before Shannon was found.

The police eventually found Caballo in Golfito park. He was smoking crack with a local sex worker named Kattia Cruz. They were both brought in for questioning, and the police took samples of their hair.

Caballo and Kattia both said that they didn’t know Shannon, and that their were several Americans in town that night. The police didn’t have much to hold them on, and they were released.

A Love Triangle?

Shannon’s murder was brutal. Her autopsy proved that whoever had killed her had been really angry. She had been stabbed about 14 times, but most of the wounds had occurred after Shannon was already dead.

The police discovered that Shannon had dated a local man named Rudy Sandoval, while she was in Golfito during the student exchange program. Rudy had been one of the tour guides who showed the group around.

Shannon wrote in her diary about how Rudy had told her how he felt after a night out together. She had to leave, and go back to the U.S. shortly after. When she returned in May 2001, Rudy had a new girlfriend, also an American named Renee.

Rudy had been at the Jurassic Bar on the night Shannon died, but the police ruled him out soon after. They also looked into his new girlfriend, who left the day after Shannon was killed, and cut her hair short. When the police tracked her down in Miami, Renee said she was due to fly back home the next day anyways.

The case stalled, and Jeanette had to call the FBI to try to get them to test the samples. The FBI said no, because it would cost about $500 dollars. Jeanette offered to pay, but a local minister paid instead. The samples from all suspects came back as being mostly from Shannon. The hair that wasn’t hers didn’t match any of the suspects.

A Mother’s Quest

Jeanette reached out to several people for help when the case wasn’t moving forward. She said she slept around 4-5 hours a night, and spent time looking over documents and sending emails and letters to various representatives.

Jeanette decided she needed to go to Costa Rica, and visit Jurassic Bar herself. She also met with local police, the U.S. Embassy, the pathologist, FBI and reporters.

Jeanette still wasn’t getting any answers, so when she returned to Kansas, she asked the Kansas Bureau of Investigation for help. Larry Thomas, a KBI agent and Jesse Ybarra, a translator, agreed to go to Costa Rica to investigate.

A Third Suspect

A few months later, Shannon’s missing earring turned up about 80 miles away from Golfito. An anonymous tipster said that Kattia Cruz, the local sex worker, had sold it to her.

Kattia was interviewed in this episode, and she saw that Caballo had given it to her, and she sold it for crack. Kattia said that Caballo and another man named Rafael ‘Coco’ Zumrado, another drug dealer, had killed Shannon.

Kattia said Coco grabbed Shannon, and Caballo slit her throat. Kattia said she tried to run, but Coco and Caballo got into the cab too. Caballo and Coco both said that Kattia was lying, and they were never together that night.

The police went out to search for the cab driver, but he never came forward. Kattia, Coco and Caballo were all charged with murder. Jeanette didn’t feel like there was any evidence that proved these three had killed her daughter. She also learned that the prosecutor had been keeping something from her: she could have worked with the prosecution the whole time. She was constantly being lied to and spending her own money to try to find answers for Shannon.

Getting Answers

Larry Thomas and Jesse Ybarra were in danger every single day that they were in Golfito. They learned that it was a dangerous place, the locals didn’t trust Americans and the port was used to transport drugs.

The police looked into the drug theory, but Shannon’s friends said that they never got into the drug scene while they were there.

Over the next few months, people started to open up to the American investigators. They learned that Shannon was a very good dancer, and had danced with several locals at Jurassic Bar on the night she died. She had made several woman jealous, including Kattia Cruz.

The investigators also learned that Caballo and Coco were both at the bar as well. Coco had lied, and there were photographs placing him at the bar.

Shannon had left the bar around 12am that night because she had to use the bathroom, and the bathrooms were out of order. Her host family lived close by, but she was killed before she made it there. The black fabric was from a t-shirt that locals reported was similar to the one Kattia had been wearing.

The Cab Driver

The taxi cab companies were tracked, and the investigators spoke to a man who had cleaned blood out of the taxi on the night of the murder. The cab had dropped Kattia and Caballo off at Golfito park, where the police found Caballo and Kattia smoking.

The taxi was eventually found in a scrap yard, but any blood that had been in it was gone. The cab driver was finally located 200 miles away in San Jose. The cab driver had been in hiding, but told the investigators that he picked up all three suspects that night. He said the three of them looked scared, but said the “gringa” had been murdered.

After he spoke to investigators, the cab driver left the country. He had been threatened by Coco, who was now in prison for murdering another drug dealer with a machete.

The Convictions

On October 31, 2003, the three suspects went on trial. The prosecution said that Shannon arrived at the Jurassic Bar around 10pm, had a few drinks and danced. Kattia had been watching Shannon, and became jealous of the attention she was getting. Shannon left around 12am, and was intercepted by Caballo and Coco, while Kattia watched. Shannon fought back, but was overpowered and was brutally killed.

A few weeks later, a man turned in the murder weapon, which is believed to have been a pocket knife. He said Caballo had given to his daughter, and told that he used it in a murder. The investigators turned it into the pathologist, and they determined that it could have been consistent with Shannon’s injuries.

In November 2003, Coco was found not guilty. Kattia and Caballo were found guilty of homicide. They were sentenced to 15 years.

Seven months later, Jeanette appealed, and the sentences were increased. Kattia was sentenced to 30 years, and Caballo to 35 years.

Jeanette still had doubts, until 11 years later, when Kattia and Caballo both confessed on this episode. Coco still denied that he was involved, but is in prison for another murder.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Shannon was so excited to come back to Golfito, and she was brutally killed over what, having a good time? Kattia, Caballo and Coco are all low lives, who deserve the sentences they received.

I praise Jeanette for never giving up on getting justice for her daughter. Jeanette is a brave woman, and if it wasn’t for her, these monsters who probably still be out on the street.

Sources

https://www.shannonlmartinfoundation.org/about-shannon

https://apnews.com/article/74a6c245aea7f65e9801f07cafcf8d4a

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2003-11-25-0311250329-story.html

https://ticotimes.net/2008/05/09/high-court-upholds-conviction-in-2001-murder