Six in dock for allenged land fraud murder

SixTHE KILLING of the former governor of Coclé, Darío Fernández Jaén, came after he uncovered a criminal organization dedicated to land fraud says the prosecution.

Six people, including two women are facing murder charges in the trial that opened in Cocle on Tuesday May 7.

Yerina Fernández, daughter of the deceased, said during her testimony, that her father learned that his grandmother's name was used for a fraudulent land transaction. Among the 70 witnesses witnesses in the trial are two former presidents, Martí¬n Torrijos (2004-2009) and Ernesto Pérez Balladares (1994-1999).
The start of the trial was attended by Attorney General Ana Belfon and Secretary General Ramsés Barrera.
Prosecutor Roberto Moreno said the governor was killed after he discovered the land fraud organization.
Defense lawyers said that there is not sufficient evidence to prove that their clients ran the crime of conspiracy and requested the charges be dismissed.
The start of the trial was attended by Attorney General Ana Belfon and Secretary General Ramsés Barrera.
Belfon called the trial historic because it is being undertaken under the criminal accusatory system. She said she attended to support the prosecutor.