Tegucigalpa (Honduras), Nov 21 (IANS/EFE) Four people involved in the murder of Miss Honduras World Maria Jose Alvarado and her sister Sofia Trinidad, whose bodies were buried Thursday, have been sent to prison by a court order, a judicial source said.
The accused, including Sofia Trinidad's boyfriend Plutarco Ruiz, will be subject to judicial detention for femicide and complicity in the crime to the detriment of the Alvarado sisters, prosecution director Rosalba Reyes told reporters in Santa Barbara.
Ruiz, who arrived in court in Santa Barbara under heavy security, was designated as the "author" of the double murder before being sent to prison, said Reyes.
According to Reyes, Ruiz could get a sentence of up to 80 years in prison for the murders.
The Alvarado sisters disappeared Nov 13 in the town of Santa Barbara, where Maria Jose traveled from Tegucigalpa to attend Ruiz's birthday party. Ruiz was arrested Tuesday together with his friend Aris Maldonado Mejia.
Mejia, Ventura Diaz and his wife, Elizabeth Alvarado, the latter two arrested Wednesday, were also charged with complicity in the crime of femicide, added Reyes.
Diaz and his wife are owners of a business in Santa Barbara where the two young women attended Ruiz's party and where they were apparently killed, according to reports from local authorities.
Reyes added that Tuesday an initial hearing would be held in which a Santa Barbara judge would decide whether the arrested would be prosecuted for the crimes charged with.
The corpses of the Alvarado sisters were found Wednesday in the village of Cablotales, and were laid to rest Thursday by family and friends, who condemned the killing and demanded justice.
Reyes also indicated that two other persons were being investigated, including a juvenile offender, but did not give their names or details of their arrest.
Earlier, Honduran Security Minister Arturo Corrales said that a fifth unidentified person has been arrested as he helped in transporting the girls to the place where they were half buried.
The crime against the beauty queen and her sister has shocked Hondurans, who are now demanding a cessation of violence in a country, where around 14 people are killed every day.
The slain Miss Honduras was expected to participate in the Miss World pageant to be held in December in London.
--IANS/EFE
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