Panama announces roster for US friendly

An armed gang killed the judge presiding over the case of the murder in Mexico of Spanish citizen Pilar Garrido and the trial has been suspended, authorities said Tuesday.

The security spokesman for the government of the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, Luis Alberto Rodriguez, confirmed to EFE the death of Judge Abelardo Ibarra and a prosecutor identified by Mexican media outlets as Erica Granados.

In a bulletin, the state Attorney General’s Office said that an investigation has been opened into the shooting deaths of two people in a vehicle on the streets of Ciudad Victoria, the state capital.

“A reward will be given to whoever provides information that leads to the identification and locating of the perpetrator of the homicides,” the statement said.

The lawyer representing Garrido’s husband, Jorge Fernandez, who is charged with her murder, ruled out any connection between the case and the murder of Judge Ibarra.

Jesus Eduardo Govea said a hearing had been scheduled for this Tuesday with the participation by videoconference of Garrido’s mother and sister, two key witnesses for the defense because they have always insisted that Fernandez is innocent.

With the Tuesday hearing the trial would have been almost over, but it has been suspended due to the slaying and will not be resumed until Jan. 8, Govea said.

Pilar Garrido disappeared on July 2, 2017, when she was returning with her husband and baby by car back home to Ciudad Victoria in Tamaulipas state after spending several days at the beach.

Later that month her skeletal remains were found along with shreds of clothing near the place she went missing, and 15 days afterwards DNA tests identified the victim as the Valencian woman.

The case took another turn when the state AG Office detained Fernandez on Aug. 29, 2017, alleging contradictions in his statements.