Costa Rica Murder – Do you know the Costa Rica crime story that everybody’s talking about this weekend?

Last night (23 May 2008) a 48 year old man living in a heavily fortified home in San Vincente de Moravia in San Jose with 19 feet high walls and numerous security cameras climbs onto the roof of his own home, while his wife and two children aged 5 and 14 remain inside, and using a powerful rifle, shoots off a few rounds…

When he did this he ‘accidentally’ killed a 28 year old Costa Rican doctor (a father of a three year old girl) while he was standing in the kitchen of his girlfriend’s home just 65 feet away..

They had never met and did not know each other.

Franz Zamora who lives nearby said that in September he did the same thing and bullets flew into his home but luckily nobody was hurt.

The 48 year old man who “suffers from serious mental problems” had a M16 AR 15 which is a weapon prohibited by Costa Rica law, he also had a 38 calibre revolver as well as a 9mmm pistol. None of which he was legally allowed to have as a tourist in Costa Rica.

Who are we talking about?

The 48 year old man is one Frederick Marlon Kelch from New York, USA. A man with a record of previous assaults and armed robbery, who had also been investigated in the US for drug possession and owning illegal weapons.

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Our thanks to our friends at La Nación – Costa Rica’s largest Spanish circulation newspaper for their permission to summarize this article and reproduce their photographs.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.