A Puerto Rican man pleaded guilty Friday to killing a Canadian businessman on the island three years ago, the latest turn in a case that saw another man convicted of the crime and then freed.
Alex Pabon Colon agreed to cooperate with police in exchange for a possible shorter prison term, prosecutors said. He was charged last week with killing Winnipeg-native Adam Anhang _ a stunning reversal after federal authorities said another man had been wrongly convicted.
Pabon is accused of killing Anhang, a real estate developer, in 2005. Also charged is the victim's wife, Aurea Vazquez Rijos, whom police say promised a man US$3 million to kill Anhang.
Pabon will not face the death penalty, but prosecutors have not decided whether Vazquez will, prosecutor Maria Dominguez said. The investigation continues, and two others will be charged, she said.
Vazquez's sister, Marcia, and her husband, Jose Ferrer, will be the next charged, an official close to the investigation who is not authorized to release information told The Associated Press.
According to the prosecutor, a coconspirator first approached Pabon to solve Vazquez's "problem."
Pabon at first thought he was supposed to beat Anhang severely, but was later told to kill him and make it look like an assault, Dominguez said.
Pabon followed Anhang and his wife as they left a restaurant in old San Juan, hit Anhang with a large rock and stabbed him several times, Dominguez said. Anhang apparently told Vazquez, "Run, baby, run," as he was being assaulted, she said.
Vazquez refused to cooperate with investigators and filed a civil suit against Anhang's parents to obtain a portion of his estate.
Her attorney, Luis Rivera, says she is innocent and that she is living in Italy, seven months pregnant with twins. Rivera has said that Vazquez will turn herself in next week, U.S. prosecutor Rosa Emilia Rodriguez told The Associated Press.
Jonathan Roman Rivera, 25, walked free from a maximum-security prison last Sunday after prosecutors determined he had apparently been wrongfully convicted. He had been convicted and sentenced last year to 105 years in prison for killing Anhang.
Juan Matos de Juan, Roman's attorney, said they will on Monday request that charges against him be dropped. But prosecutors maintain they will reinvestigate the case before making any decisions.
An August hearing was set to determine whether Roman will face a new trial.
