Escape trial of five student murders suspect suspended

The court hearing for the escape from La Joya  jail of a prisoner awaiting trial for the kidnapping and murder of five Chinese students was suspended on Friday June  22.

The suspension of the hearing was because  the resignation of one of the defense lawyers in a case involving seven others. The new hearing date was set for July 13.

Gilberto Ventura Ceballos escaped in Dec. 2016 and had a $50,000 price tag on his head when he was recaptured in Costa Rica nine months later.

He  has a record of escapes in his native Dominican Republic.

The cases for the kidnappings and homicides of the five young Panamanians of Chinese origin,in La Chorrera  some seven years ago  are pending in the Superior Court of Justice

Apart from Ventura Ceballos, seven other people have to face the audience over his escape.