American arrested in Dominican Republic, accused of murdering 3 Honduran women after going out with them
The authorities in Honduras recently announced that American citizen Gilbert Reyes Bermudez was arrested in the Dominican Republic for reportedly murdering three women in Roatan, a Honduran island.
The Tico Times reported that Honduras has the highest rate of femicide in Latin America and the fifth highest in the world. A separate report noted that an estimated 45,000 women and girls worldwide were murdered by their intimate partners or family members in 2021.
The 36-year-old American suspect has been accused of killing María Antonia Cruz, Nikendra McCoy, and Dione Solórzano after going out with them on January 6, according to Fox News Digital. The next day, Bermudez was accused of getting out of Honduras and the three women were reported missing.
The bodies of the women were discovered with gunshot wounds in a vehicle three days later. Reports mentioned that one of the victims, Solórzano, was one of Bermudez’s ex-partners.
The authorities reportedly seized $205 and 600 pesos in cash from Bermudez. They also took his American passport, two cell phones, and other personal items including glasses, keys, and a wallet. The items were reportedly held by OCN-Interpol Santo Domingo.
The extradition process to get Bermudez back into the U.S. has already begun, according to the National Police of Honduras. Reports noted that crime scene evidence and witness testimony will be used against Bermudez in the case.
The Tico Times reported that the president of the Supreme Court of Justice, Rebeca Raquel Obando, has ensured the public that this crime will not go unpunished. Her statement comes as the public is generally pessimistic about the murder of women in the country given that 95 percent of femicides go unpunished.
The report added:
The statistics paint a grim picture of the reality faced by women in Honduras. In 2023 alone, the country recorded 380 femicides, a significant increase from the 308 cases reported in 2022. UN Women data ranks Honduras as the country with the fifth highest rate of femicides globally, with 6.47 cases per 100,000 women, making it the most dangerous country in Latin America for women.
As the case against Bermudez continues to unfold, the authorities hope that justice will be served and it will be a wake-up call to address the issue of violence against women throughout the country.
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