Six people were murdered on October 17th on the private property of American Stephen Paul Sandusky of Buenos Aires, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. The police arrived at 1AM on October 18th, and have consistently told the press that they are investigating this slaughter as a robbery gone wrong. Was it? Neighbors aren’t so sure.

Sandusky was a 61-year old former Floridian, divorced father of two sons. He and his ex-wife had remained on good terms, working to raise their sons in harmony. Sandusky was selling his farm/ranch, Llano Bonito, ($1.8 million dollars) to be able to join his sons in the United States, where they attend university. He also planned to receive knee surgery in the US. He could barely walk due to bad knees and a weight problem. There had been numerous break-ins on his ranch, and he was just ready to go back to the United States to spend his golden years there.
How was it that Sandusky finished his life, shot in the head and burned beyond recognition in the bed of his own truck, on his own property?

His ex-wife Anne Valverde (Tica) commented about his murder. “The last day I saw him, I never thought they were going to do something so disastrous, so devastating to us.” She made the crime sound very personal, more likely committed by someone they knew. Indeed, anonymous sources within the police department say that seems to be the direction their investigation is now taking. There had been rumors in the Puntarenas community that the property had been sold, and neighbors thought local thieves had broken into Sandusky’s house to steal whatever they could before he vacated. Except, nothing was stolen.
A window had been broken, and Sandusky’s house had been ransacked, as though someone were looking for hidden drugs or money. Valuable farm equipment had been packed up, but not taken. The murders were all committed outside: Two women were shot in the head, three other men showed signs of torture, had numerous bullet wounds, and all were either set on fire, or doused with chemical accelerant, not yet burned. The crime scene hinted at a gang style hit, by professional sicarios (hitmen). Sandusky was not rumored to be involved in the narco-trafficking world, but he had mixed it up with some people who might have wished him harm.

Sandusky had owned a restaurant in Dominical, “FishLips”, and when he closed it in 2004, he fired all employees, leaving them without severance and bonus pay. He was able to do that legally, claiming his employees had stolen from him, and did not deserve compensation as a result. Several people held grudges against Sandusky for that.
Another conflict Sandusky had was from an incident in 2006, when the security guard on Llano Bonito was killed while on duty. Edgar Humberto Rojas Blanco discovered someone stealing zinc roofing from the property. He confronted the individual, and was shot dead. The person stealing roofing was a crooked former cop, who was put in jail for 12 years. Sandusky testified against him. He been out of jail now for two years.

Even earlier in his Costa Rican residency, Sandusky had fallen victim to a Ponzi scheme known as “The Brothers”. Several Americans invested in this scheme, losing millions of dollars. Very few regained any of their investments. Sandusky claimed to have recouped only $140,000. Many people who lost money never received anything back, and there was bad blood among them.
Costa Rica has one of the lowest crime and murder rates in Central America – it’s one of the reasons it is touted as being such an ideal place for Americans and Europeans to retire. The crime rate in Puntarenas, however, has been steadily increasing due to narco-trafficking up through Central America toward the US and Europe. Both murders and robberies are on the rise.
There are, therefore, numerous reasons Sandusky could have been killed: revenge, drug dealing, economic challenges during the pandemic, unresolved conflicts with previous employees, simple theft, misinformation regarding contents of his house, or some other reason not known to officials.

Costa Rican police are often ill-equipped to deal with these complicated crime scenes and lack the forensic skills to piece the crime scene together accurately. They are said to be out-gunned, out-run, out smarted, and underpaid to go up against the really bad guys. The real culprits sometimes sadly go free.
It’s sad that a lovely family from Perez Zeledon, who had gone off for a Sunday outing to help an American needing assistance with his broken farm gear, have left grieving families to cope with this tragedy, with five murders that may never be solved. Sandusky’s sons have no father. May the victims rest in peace

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