Miss Honduras 2014 found dead and buried with sister, police say

Very sad news... I still do not know or understand what the killing of this young woman accomplished.


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/maria-jose-alvarado-miss-honduras-2014-found-dead-and-buried-with-sister/

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - A top police official says what appear to be the bodies of Miss Honduras 2014 and her sister have been found buried near the spa where they disappeared six days ago.

National Police director, Gen. Ramon Sabillon says authorities are awaiting confirmation from forensic officials that the bodies are Maria Jose Alvarado, 19, and her sister, Sofia, 23. He said early Wednesday that Plutarco Ruiz, boyfriend of Sofia, and an accomplice, Aris Maldonado, have been arrested.

Alvarado had been scheduled to leave for London on Sunday to compete in the Miss World 2014 pageant.

Honduran authorities are holding four people for questioning about the disappearance.

In addition to Sofia's boyfriend, another being held is the owner of the business where the women disappeared, said police spokesman Lt. Joseph Coello, though he would not identify him.

"Initially we detained 10, but six have been released," Coello said.

The two women were last seen Thursday in a spa in Santa Barbara, about 240 miles west of Tegucigalpa, where they had gone to celebrate Ruiz's birthday.

"Witnesses said my daughter left the spa with three men," her mother, Teresa Munoz, told reporters. "I tried repeatedly all night to call their cellphones without any response."

According to the U.N., Honduras has the world's highest murder rate.

Human Rights Watch writes: "Perpetrators of killings and other violent crimes are rarely brought to justice. The institutions responsible for providing public security continue to prove largely ineffective and remain marred by corruption and abuse, while efforts to reform them have made little progress."

Drug trafficking has largely been blamed for the startling rise in violence in the Central American nation in the last decade.

Honduran officials receive aid from the U.S. to fight the trafficking of cocaine headed for the U.S. market. The country has 400 miles of northern Caribbean coastline, with plenty of tree cover and great uninhabited stretches for moving drugs.

While Hondurans blame their police for much of the crime, police say they are overwhelmed and outgunned by the drug traffickers and criminals.

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