Two People Charged for Kidnapping American and His Pilot in Panama

Panama City, 19 Mar A court in Panama charged two people on Saturday for kidnapping and aggravated robbery perpetrated to the detriment of American businessman Randall Leigh Stettmeir and his assistant pilot, both found dead last October, official sources and local media said. The charges were brought by a guarantee judge during a control hearing held in the western province of Chiriqui, in which the defendants were also pretrial detention for six months for the duration of the investigations, the Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) reported on its social networks. The two defendants are Gustavo Bonilla 'Tavin' and Jenniffer del Carmen Castillo Amores, as published today by the local newspaper La Prensa. On 25 October, the Prosecutor's Office reported that two dead bodies had been found in Rio Chico, Natá, in the central province of Cocle, without giving any further details. Local media reported that it was American businessman Randall Leigh Stettmeir Tilly, owner of a fumigation company, and his pilot, Armando Eliécer Miranda Pitti, who were allegedly kidnapped since last October and for whom they were asking for a reward of more than $200,000. According to these same versions, Stettmeir and Pitti had been contacted for an alleged fumigation in the Soná sector in the province of Veraguas, adjacent to Chiriqui, where the company operated, and went to the company's secretary Ruth Saucedo. It was the victims' relatives who recognized the bodies of Stettmeir and Pitti, who allegedly appeared next to a tree and another next to the river in a black garbage bag, while Saucedo appeared alive and beaten days later, the newspapers published. For the murder of the American businessman and his pilot Pitti, the Cocle Prosecutor's Office will call for a control hearing for the two accused, local press said. The director of the National Police of Panama (PN), John Dornheim, told reporters today that for this crime “more than six people have been arrested, linked to this regrettable event.” “Investigations are continuing, obviously other people are going to fall because this operation is in progress,” Dornheim said. Defense attorney Cristian Rovira indicated that he has “few hours” of reviewing the file,” but said that “we will try to stick to what is our position on what is the presumption of innocence of the client, and that the judge determine what is right for the case.” Last November, the U.S. embassy in Panama condemned Stettmeir's “abduction and violent homicide”, and demanded the capture and prosecution of those responsible, asking its citizens to “greater precaution” in the face of the crime. Panama recorded 554 homicides in 2021, 10.8% more than in 2020, according to figures from the MP (Prosecutor's Office) released last January. This is the fourth consecutive year with the increase in homicides in Panama, a country of 4.28 million inhabitants that recorded 412 murders in 2017, 439 in 2018, 480 in 2019 and 500 in 2020, according to the statistics of the Prosecutor's Office. fa/mmg