Christian Espat Denies Involvement in Triple Murder; Accuses Police of Abuse
We begin our next story with a sincere apology to the young man whose picture we showed on Monday night’s newscast as one of the suspects that police is accusing jointly of the triple murder in San Pedro. While we had the name, Michael Brown right, the image we used was that of another individual who bears a similar name, someone who was in no way associated with or involved in the crime. We acknowledge that we have caused injury to the reputation of the young man whose picture we showed. The Michael Brown that the Commissioner of Police named, along with Christian Espat, is accused of the murder of three-year-old Amari Rodriguez, her father, twenty-five-year-old Delmar Rodriguez and his friend, Carlos Chi. All three were traveling in a golf cart along with Delmar’s common-law-wife, Karla Cordova and Carlos’ cousin, Leonel Cornejo, towards the couple’s house in the San Pedrito area shortly before midnight on Monday. Police have said that the motive of the attack was drug-related. But, like Tionne Paguada, who had issued a video statement after escaping police detention for the January third murder of American nurse, J’Bria Bowens, Espat has now issued an audio recording. In that recording, Paguada accused authorities of abusing him while in custody and offered an alibi. In similar fashion, Espat does the same and disassociates himself with the incident and went on to accuse the police of beating and torturing him. And interestingly, there is a Tik Tok video also circulating, showing one of the deceased, Delmar Rodriguez, showing two packages of suspected cocaine still in their wrapping, floating in the sea, and wads of money in rubber bands. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.
Voice of: Christian Espat
“My name is Christian Espat. I’m sending this video to the media to clear my name because the police are accusing me of a triple murder I didn’t commit. The reason I’m not on the island at this moment is because last week Thursday, the police tortured, threatened me to the point that I no longer could take the pain.”
Marion Ali, Reporting
The person purporting to be Christian Espat who sent out this audio recording, claims that the police beat him so badly that he needed to seek medical attention on the mainland for injuries he suffered to his head.
Voice of: Christian Espat
“I’m not running and I’m not hiding from the law. I just came to the doctor to see if the police didn’t do any permanent damage to my head.”
Espat, who has been charged and acquitted of murder before, says he is a t a loss over why the police would link him to the crime.
Voice of: Christian Espat
“I don’t know why they’re accusing me of this triple murder, because I know I didn’t have any misunderstanding and no problem with the Delmar Rodriguez. I never threatened him nor his family, worse had any drug-related conflict with him.”
Today News Five met up with Commissioner Williams in San Pedro and he challenged Espat to hand himself in if he is innocent.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“I know you’re going to ask about an audio recording that was issued out by the Espats in respect to Christian [Espat]. But again, my answer to that is that that can be done from anywhere. If he so believes that he is innocent, then present yourself to the police. You know that you are being sought, so then hand yourself over and then we see where we go from there.”
Witnesses say the gunmen ambushed the group just as they had turned onto the back street near the lagoon in San Pedrito. Carlos Chi, who had just left Libertad Village to look for work on the island, ran to take cover inside a yard, but he was fatally shot when he slipped and fell. Delmar, who was driving, fell off the golf cart, dead.
Prior to his death, he made a Tik Tok video showing what looked appeared to be two parcels of cocaine that were floating in the sea, apparently from a “wet drop” when drug planes dispose of their cargo at sea. Also, part of that video shows thick wads of fifty-dollar notes bound in rubber bands. Police had said that Delmar’s murder was over drugs that were found that were not shared equally. Marion Ali reporting for News Five.