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Miss Honduras Maria Jose Alvarado has been found murdered at the age of 19. With the help of a “protected witness,” two men were brought into police custody. Since Alvarado’s disappearance, members of the community have come out pleading that Alvarado be released from her abductors. This is a terrible ending for her fans as well as family. Read on for the sad facts on the incident.
1. Alvarado Was Murdered Along With Her Sister Sofia Trinidad Hernandez
Alvarado and her sister were last seen leaving a party in a car with no license plate. Both girls were shot, Alvarado from behind and Hernandez from the front. USA Today reports that:
The bodies were found buried in a river bank near the La Aquagua spa in the city about 120 miles northwest of the capital, Tegucigalpa.
Alvarado was 19, while her sister was 23 years old.
2. Sofia’s Boyfriend Plutarco Antonio Ruiz Allegedly Committed the Murders in a Jealous Rage
The media has reported that Hernandez and Alvarado were attending the birthday party of Hernandez’ boyfriend Plutarco Antonio Ruiz at a spa in the resort city Santa Barbara when they first disappeared. The police reported that the killers of the two women went back and tried to clean up the crime scene after the murders.
The Daily Mail reports that Ruiz allegedly confessed to the murders:
The boyfriend of Miss Honduras’ older sister shot the two women dead in a jealous rage after his girlfriend had danced with another man, police say. General Ramon Sabillon, the National Police director, said Sofia’s boyfriend Plutarco Antonio Ruiz confessed and led authorities to the bodies buried in a river bank in a mountainous area in Santa Barbara.
3. Alvarado & Her Sister Went Missing Before They Were Supposed to Leave for the Miss World Competition in London
Alvarado was set to participate in the Miss World pageant, which will air December 14, 2014. The girls went missing on November 13, 2014, just days before they were set to fly to London for the competition. Teresa Munoz, the mother of the girls, told Televicentro:
They were not very astute about assessing the people around them. They were just friendly. They were taken out by people they hadn’t known very long.
According to the Daily Mail:
She claimed Ruiz called her the following morning, acting nervous and claiming the young women had left the party in a car with some other people.
4. A Second Suspect Allegedly Helped the Killer Bury the Bodies
A man named Aris Valentin Maldonado has been arrested as a suspect in the incident. USA Today reports that:
Leandro Osorio, head of the National Directorate of Criminal Investigation, said weapons and a car allegedly used to transport the bodies were confiscated.
Maldonado is said to have helped Ruiz bury the two girls’ bodies.
5. Honduras Is the Murder Capital of the World
Honduras is actually rated as number one for murder in the world. NBC News reports:
Honduras is the murder capital of the world, with a homicide rate of 90.4 people per 100,000, according to an April U.N. report, almost double the rate of Venezuela, which ranks second with 53.7 per 100,000.
In addition:
San Pedro Sula, just over 30 miles from Santa Barbara, is the murder capital of the world with more than 1,200 killings a year among its nearly one million inhabitants.