Gilberto Ventura Ceballos

Last updated
Gilberto Ventura Ceballos
Born (1975-07-06) July 6, 1975 (age 48)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Other namesCarlos Alberto Aguirre Valencia
Conviction(s) Murder
Criminal penalty30 years imprisonment
Details
Victims5
Span of crimes
2010–2011
Country Panama
State(s) Panamá Oeste
Date apprehended
For the last time on September 22, 2017
Imprisoned atRecaptured on 13 February by Panamanian policemen

Gilberto Ventura Ceballos (born July 6, 1975) is a Dominican serial killer who murdered five Panamanian youths in the city of La Chorrera between 2010 and 2011, all of his victims being of Chinese descent. [1]

Contents

Crimes

Between 2010 and 2011, with the help of Alcibiades Méndez, Ceballos abducted and murdered five teenagers in La Chorrera: Yessenia Argelis Loo Kam, Yong Jian Wu, Samy Zeng Chen, Joel Maurio Liu Wong and Georgina del Carmen Lee Chen. The murders shocked the city, and the authorities were mobilized. [2] Eventually, the bodies of the deceased were found buried under a residence in the El Trapichito sector of the city. [3]

Soon after, Ceballos was detained in the Dominican Republic and extradited to Panama in 2011, where he was put on pre-trial detention. However, on December 28, 2016, with the aid of several accomplices, he managed to escape from the La Joyita Prison, outside of the capital. He hid for around a year, before eventually being captured by authorities in Jacó, Costa Rica on September 22, 2017. [2] When he was seized, he was using false documents, presenting himself as a Colombian national named Carlos Alberto Aguirre Valencia. [3] Ceballos was arrived in the capital through Albrook Airport, with shackles on his hands and feet, and was quickly put in a maximum security prison cell. [1]

On September 29, 2017, he was charged with escaping from prison and conspiracy to commit a crime. His trial was first supposed to have started on October 26, but a Panamanian court postponed it until November 23. [2]

Ceballos' lawyer, Rogelio Cruz, filed a habeas corpus motion to the Judicial Branch of Panama, arguing that the pre-trial detention that his client had received was unlawful, also adding that he was vilified by the media. This move was criticized by Cristobal Fu, the legal representative of the victims' family members, who noted that the motion was probably filed in order to stall the proceedings. [4]

The defense team filed a 3-month period postponement request to the Public Prosecutor's Office, which was denied due to its complexity. Cruz claimed that he needed time to analyze the 500-page file, as he had not been able to properly access it. However, the trial proceeded either way. Prior to Ceballos' arrival in court, the relatives of the victims presented their complaints concerning the defense's constant delayings of the procedure. When the defendant arrived, he tried to assume his own defense, a move denied by the court. Ceballos subsequently pleaded not guilty to the murder charges. [5]

On November 29, a second hearing concerning the complex case was cancelled, as one of the defense lawyers representing one of the other accused parties was missing. [6]

On December 4, the Deputy Prosecutor of Organized Crime Miguel Tuñón requested an extension of 4 months to further investigate all suspects involved in the case due to its sheer size. The Magistrate Judge, Francisco Carpintero, agreed to the proposal. [7]

After being found guilty of all charges on June 22, 2018, Ceballos and his accomplice Méndez were both sentenced to 50 years imprisonment for murdering the youths. The same sentence was also given to Keyla Gisselle Bendibú Salazar and Mario Luis Vega, who had acted as secondary accomplices in three of the murders. A sentence of 15 years was given to Kenny Alezander Bendibú Salazar and Roberto Antonio Mariscal for being accomplices in homicide, but were acquitted of kidnapping charges. Coupled with all this, all of them would be disqualified from public functions for a term of 10 years once they serve out their sentences. [3]

After two years of being incarcerated, he escaped from prison on February 2, 2020.

He was recaptured by the national police on February 13, 2020, in the community of El Salado, Remedios, province of Chiriquì, Republic of Panamà.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Laci Peterson</span> 2002 murder of an American woman in California

Laci Denise Peterson was an American woman murdered by her husband, Scott Lee Peterson, while eight months pregnant with their first child. Laci disappeared on December 24, 2002, from the couple's home in Modesto, California, after which Scott reported her missing. The remains of her and her unborn son, whom the couple had planned to name Conner, were discovered in April 2003 on the shores of San Francisco Bay. Subsequently, Scott was arrested and charged with two counts of murder. In November 2004, he was found guilty of the first-degree murder of Laci and the second-degree murder of the infant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Masterson</span> American actor (born 1976)

Daniel Peter Masterson is an American actor. He played Steven Hyde in That '70s Show (1998–2006), Milo Foster in Men at Work (2012–2014), and Jameson "Rooster" Bennett in The Ranch (2016–2018). In May 2023, Masterson was convicted of raping two women in 2003. A third count of rape resulted in a hung jury. In September 2023, he was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison. Masterson is a Scientologist, as were his victims at the time of the assaults. The Church of Scientology's attempts to silence the victims, and its subsequent interference, resulted in a 20-year delay in bringing the crimes to justice.

José Ramón Guizado Valdés was the 17th President of Panama. He belonged to the National Patriotic Coalition (CNP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Martha Moxley</span> American criminal case

Martha Elizabeth Moxley was a 15-year-old American high school student from Greenwich, Connecticut, who was murdered in 1975. Moxley was last seen alive spending time at the home of the Skakel family, across the street from her home in Belle Haven. Michael Skakel, also aged 15 at the time, was convicted in 2002 of murdering Moxley and was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. In 2013, Skakel was granted a new trial by a Connecticut judge who ruled that his counsel had been inadequate, and he was released on $1.2 million bail. On December 30, 2016, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled 4–3 to reinstate Skakel's conviction. The Connecticut Supreme Court reversed itself on May 4, 2018, and ordered a new trial. On October 30, 2020, the 45th anniversary of Moxley's murder, the state of Connecticut announced it would not retry Skakel for Moxley's murder. The case attracted worldwide publicity, as Skakel is a nephew of Ethel Skakel Kennedy, the widow of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Singapore</span> Death penalty as a legal punishment in Singapore

Capital punishment in Singapore is a legal penalty. Executions in Singapore are carried out by long drop hanging, and usually take place at dawn. Thirty-three offences—including murder, drug trafficking, terrorism, use of firearms and kidnapping—warrant the death penalty under Singapore law.

Tay Yong Kwang is a Singaporean judge of the Supreme Court. He was first appointed Judicial Commissioner in 1997, appointed Judge in 2003, and appointed Judge of Appeal in 2016. He was noted for being the presiding judge in several notable cases that shocked the nation and made headlines in Singapore.

Zwelethu Mthethwa is a South African painter and photographer. He was convicted of murder in 2017, and is currently incarcerated at Pollsmoor Prison.

Choo Han Teck is a Singaporean judge of the Supreme Court. He was formerly a lawyer before his appointment to the court as a judge. It was revealed in 2021 that Choo was one of the defence lawyers representing Adrian Lim, the infamous Toa Payoh child killer who was executed in 1988 for charges of murdering a girl and boy as ritual sacrifices. In 1994, Choo also defended Phua Soy Boon, a jobless Singaporean who was hanged in 1995 for killing a moneylender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jurijus Kadamovas and Iouri Mikhel</span> Lithuanians convicted of murder, on death row in the U.S.

Jurijus Kadamovas and Iouri Gherman Mikhel are Soviet-born American serial killers who immigrated to the United States from Lithuania and Russia, respectively. They are currently on federal death row for five kidnappings and murders. The kidnappings occurred over a four-month period beginning in late 2001, in which the kidnappers demanded ransom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Larry King</span> Murder in Oxnard, California

Lawrence Fobes King, also known as Latisha King, was a 15-year-old student at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, California, who was shot twice by a fellow student, 14-year-old Brandon McInerney, and kept on life support for two days afterwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Phillips (murderer)</span> American murderer

Joshua Earl Patrick Phillips is an American who was convicted of murder as a child. In November 1998, when he was 14 years old, Phillips killed Madelyn Rae Clifton, his 8-year-old friend and neighbor. The following year, he was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Phillips stated that he killed Clifton to stop her from crying after she was accidentally struck with a baseball while they were playing, and that he feared punishment from his abusive father. Although elements of Phillips's story are disputed, officials who were involved in his prosecution have subsequently expressed contrition over the severity of his sentence. In 2017, Phillips was re-sentenced to life in prison on appeal, but he has been eligible for re-sentencing as of 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Dathan Holbert</span> American serial killer

William Dathan Holbert, alias William Adolfo Cortez and nicknamed "Wild Bill", is an American serial killer. Originally from North Carolina, he is currently serving a 47-year sentence for the killings of five Americans in Panama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Travis Alexander</span> 2008 murder in Mesa, Arizona

Travis Victor Alexander was an American salesman who was murdered by his ex-girlfriend, Jodi Ann Arias, in his house in Mesa, Arizona while in the shower. Arias was convicted of first-degree murder on May 8, 2013, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on April 13, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Odin Lloyd</span> 2013 murder in North Attleborough, Massachusetts

Odin Leonardo John Lloyd was a semi-professional American football player who was murdered by Aaron Hernandez, a former tight end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League, in North Attleborough, Massachusetts, on June 17, 2013. Lloyd's death made international headlines following Hernandez's association with the investigation as a suspect. Lloyd had been a linebacker for a New England Football League (NEFL) semi-professional football team, the Boston Bandits, since 2007.

Eric Smith is a former Macomb County Prosecutor and convicted criminal. He resigned on March 30, 2020, after criminal charges were filed against him.

Ross William Ulbricht is an American businessman serving life imprisonment for creating and operating the darknet market website Silk Road from 2011 until his arrest in 2013. The site operated as a hidden service on the Tor network and facilitated the sale of narcotics and other illegal products and services. Ulbricht ran the site under the pseudonym "Dread Pirate Roberts", after the fictional character from The Princess Bride.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Reagan Tokes</span> 2017 abduction, rape and murder that led to the "Reagan Tokes Act" in Ohio

The murder of Reagan Tokes occurred on the night of February 8, 2017, in the Scioto Grove Metro Park in Grove City, Ohio. Tokes, a twenty-one-year-old student at Ohio State University, was abducted by Brian Golsby while leaving her job in Columbus’s downtown. Golsby robbed and raped Tokes, and forced her to drive to the Scioto Grove Metro Park. There, he forced her to strip naked and marched her into a field where he shot her twice in the head just shortly before midnight. Her body was found the following morning.

On October 9, 2015, Steven Edward Jones, an 18-year-old freshman at Northern Arizona University, shot four people, killing Colin Charles Brough and severely injuring three others, in a parking lot outside of Mountain View Hall on the Flagstaff Mountain campus in Flagstaff, Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Kallang slashings</span> 2010 robbery-murder case in Singapore

The 2010 Kallang slashings refer to a series of four robberies committed by a group of four Malaysians from Sarawak, Malaysia in the night of 29 May 2010 and the early hours of the morning of 30 May 2010, mostly around Kallang Area, Singapore. In the robberies, there were a total of four victims – the first three victims were seriously injured and hospitalised while a fourth victim was killed.

Chan Seng Onn is a Singaporean judge who presently serves as a Senior Judge of the High Court of Singapore. Formerly a prosecutor, Chan had previously served as a High Court judge from 2007 to 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 "Dominican man accused of 5 homicides arrives in Panama". PanamaToday. 23 September 2017. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "Postponed trial of Dominican accused of murdering 5 Panamanians". PanamaToday. 26 October 2017. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Nimay González (9 July 2018). "50 years dictated for Gilberto Ventura and Alcibiades Méndez for the murder of 5 young chorreranos" (in Spanish). Telemetro.
  4. ↑ "Students killed: Seven years without justice". PanamaToday. 15 November 2017. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  5. ↑ Álvaro Pulido (23 November 2017). "Prosecutor's Office opposed Ventura Ceballos' request to postpone hearing". PanamaToday. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  6. ↑ Álvaro Pulido (29 November 2017). "Ventura Ceballos' hearing differs due to absence of the defense". PanamaToday. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  7. ↑ Álvaro Pulido (5 December 2017). "Judicial Investigation against Ventura Ceballos Is Extended by 4 Months". PanamaToday. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.