Tonight, a man has been convicted for the double murder of two women in the Toledo District. It happened in January of 2018, when the Oh sisters, Cresencia, 20, and Josephine, 18 - were walking from a church service to their home village of San Antonio by foot on village roads. They were assaulted on the walk home - allegedly by Wilmer Escobar near San Jose Village. He savagely attacked the young women - who were strangers to him - and killed them with chop wounds to the head. Forensic evidence shows he then raped them both; they were found both partially nude on the road. The vicious killing of two innocents stirred outrage and incomprehension in the community.
The trial without jury for this double murder started in November of last year - with the now deceased Herbert Panton defending Escobar and Senior Crown Counsel Javier Chan prosecuting. Arguments concluded in January of this year, and today in Punta Gorda Supreme Court, Justice Antoinette More found Escobar guilty of both murders.
The prosecution called 21 witnesses - but the case pivoted on a confession statement that Escobar gave to police where he admitted to killing both women - and confessed to raping one of them. Throughout the trial, Escobar maintained his innocence and said police had tortured him to get that statement. He claimed that the Justice of the Peace could confirm this. But, when the JP appeared he denied any knowledge of that.
With that, the confession was ruled admissible - and the judge found him guilty today.
Sentencing will take place later this year after he gets a psychological evaluation and a report from the prison. He could face a maximum sentence of 35 years before he is eligible for parole.
