By Breaking Belize News Staff: Santos Eduardo Lopez Zepeda, the last remaining accused in the murder of 59-year-old Rosa Chinchilla, was acquitted today after the court upheld a no-case submission in his favour.
Chinchilla was killed inside her home on Lindo’s Alley on Monday, August 17, 2020. Her throat was slit, and before she died, she reportedly left behind a blood-stained note that police treated as a clue in the investigation.
Two men were initially charged in connection with the murder: Zepeda and Angel Aldolfo Garcia Alvarez. However, Alvarez walked free on Monday, June 8, 2026, after the Director of Public Prosecutions entered a nolle prosequi, ending the case against him. That came after key evidence, including a caution statement allegedly given by Alvarez, was ruled inadmissible.
On Friday, Justice Nigel Pilgrim ruled that the Crown had not presented sufficient evidence for Zepeda to answer to the charge of murder. The judge noted several concerns with the case, including the tenuous nature of the evidence, the handling of the crime scene, the lack of a clear link between Zepeda and Chinchilla, and the failure by police to properly investigate the name “Jose,” which appeared in the note left by the deceased.
Attorney Erin Quiros, who represented Zepeda, argued that there was no reliable evidence proving her client was the person who attacked Chinchilla. She also pointed out that police did not establish that Zepeda ever went by the name Jose, despite the note reportedly referring to a “worker of Fito” named Jose.
The court also heard that police found clothing at Zepeda’s house with what appeared to be blood, but testing was inconclusive and did not establish that it belonged to Chinchilla.
Justice Pilgrim ultimately found that it would not be safe for the case to proceed and acquitted Zepeda of murder.
Although Zepeda was acquitted of Chinchilla’s murder, he remains behind bars in connection with a separate charge of escaping from lawful custody in 2025, after he allegedly escaped while being detained for the murder case and was later recaptured.
Chinchilla was reportedly known to lend money and keep borrowers’ social security cards as collateral, a detail that became part of the investigation after police found several cards inside her home.
The post Santos Zepeda becomes last suspect to walk free from Rosa Chinchilla murder charge despite victim’s note written in blood appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: Santos Eduardo Lopez Zepeda, the last remaining accused in the murder of 59-year-old Rosa Chinchilla, was acquitted today after the court upheld a no-case submission in his favour. Chinchilla was killed inside her home on Lindo’s Alley on Monday, August 17, 2020. Her throat was slit, and before she died,
The post Santos Zepeda becomes last suspect to walk free from Rosa Chinchilla murder charge despite victim’s note written in blood appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
