A weekend manhunt for a suspect in the murder of Karina Gloria Daniels, 29, of Corozal Town, ended on Sunday afternoon when Salvadoran Carlos Keme was captured by Mexican authorities.
On Friday morning around 8:00, police in Orange Walk Town visited an open lot where they found the unidentified (at that time), lifeless body of a Hispanic woman, nude, lying face up.
Amandala was informed by a source on the scene that the woman’s underwear and clothing covered her face, breasts and private parts, and there were signs of sexual activity and possibly strangulation (marks on the neck).
On 7 News on Friday night, an area resident and sister of Keme who was familiar with the victim came forward and identified her as Daniels, Keme’s girlfriend.
The woman claimed that Keme had had a “stormy relationship” with Daniels because of his temper, but when Keme and his sister had a recent disagreement that landed him in jail earlier this week, Karina met his bail. They were last seen together (not by her) on Thursday night, hours before Daniels’ body was found.
Today’s Diario de Quintana Roo reported that Daniels was between 3 and 4 months pregnant when she was murdered, and that Keme is a longtime member of the infamous MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha) gang, with a record for attempted murder and firearm trafficking in the United States.
According to the Diario’s reporter, Belize and Quintana Roo state border patrol tracked Keme to the Rio Hondo, but he slipped away from them in a jungle area and escaped into Mexico, where he was picked up 20 hours later in a park in Subteniente Lopez division, Chetumal.
Mario Pinzon of the border patrol told Diario (translated): “This dangerous subject is part of the Mara Salvatrucha gang and killed his girlfriend in the town of Orange Walk, but fortunately we were able to locate him before he could abscond, because we are confident that he (was attempting) to go to the U.S.”.
Keme is in custody awaiting deportation to Belize. He reportedly at first claimed there was “no evidence” that he killed Daniels, then later admitted to “squeezing her neck” after reportedly catching her in bed with two other men.
Keme reportedly said, according to Diario (translated): “I tried to kill the men (who) had been (with) my wife, but the two fled,” adding that if he ever saw them again he would kill them, for it was their fault that “the devil possessed me and forced me to end the life of my wife and my future child.”
Police confirmed the identification, but would not comment on Keme’s reported capture.