Bail bondsman confesses to two murders in video and found dead in Santa Isabel
William Noel Rivera Sánchez recorded his confession in video and killed a lawyer in Ponce and a former activist in Guayama before taking his own life.
Video confession precedes double killing in Ponce and Guayama
Six minutes and 29 seconds. That was the length of the video in which William Noel Rivera Sánchez, a 45-year-old bail bondsman, described an alleged economic dispute, named two men and ended up confessing that he had murdered them. According to listindiario.com, the recording triggered a criminal sequence that extended across the municipalities of Ponce, Santa Isabel and Guayama.
The video began circulating on social media shortly after the murder of lawyer Luis A. Quiñones González was reported on Las Américas avenue in Ponce. Rivera Sánchez had also recorded a first video with a confession prior to the lawyer's killing. Hours later, the suspect himself was found dead in his apartment in Santa Isabel.
The Ponce killing: lawyer shot repeatedly in front of his wife
The sequence began on Thursday night, when Rivera Sánchez murdered former activist Félix Plaud, 45, in an empty lot at the end of Laporte Street in the Borinquen neighbourhood of Guayama, behind some mechanics' shops. Following the killing, he recorded a first video confessing to what had happened, but did not publish it immediately.
At 10:50 in the morning on Friday, Rivera Sánchez opened fire on Quiñones González, a criminal lawyer, as he was leaving Ponce courthouse in his vehicle. The lawyer, father of two children, was driving behind his wife's car when he was intercepted.
"Upon reaching an intersection on Las Américas avenue, another vehicle stopped behind the lawyer's pick-up truck. An individual got out of that car, approached the lawyer's vehicle and fired multiple shots at it using two firearms," Police Superintendent Joseph González said at a press conference from the headquarters in Hato Rey.
The lawyer's wife, an attorney, witnessed the attack through her rear-view mirror. After the impact, the lawyer's truck collided with her vehicle. "According to preliminary information, the wife fired several shots in the direction of the attacker as he was leaving the scene. Immediately afterwards, she, with the help of citizens who were at the location, took the lawyer to a hospital," González said. Quiñones González died at the medical centre as a result of his injuries.
Rivera Sánchez publishes the videos and takes his own life
After the attack in Ponce, Rivera Sánchez headed to his residence in Santa Isabel, where he published the two videos he had recorded on his Facebook account, causing distress among family and acquaintances. He then took his own life with one of the firearms for which he held a licence.
Officers received information that Rivera Sánchez was in the apartment and had expressed intentions of harming himself. A unit was dispatched to the residence and attempted to establish communication, without success. The Police rescue unit proceeded to force entry to the property, where they found Rivera Sánchez deceased.
Plaud: reported missing, found dead
González confirmed that Plaud was reported missing by a friend at 11:00 on Friday morning, after the friend had been unable to locate him since Thursday night. The last known communication with the former statehood leader was believed to have occurred around 7:00 in the evening of the previous day. After the body was discovered, the friend went to the scene and confirmed the victim's identity.
"We are here this afternoon to provide information about two murders we are investigating in the municipalities of Ponce and Guayama and which, based on the evidence so far, are linked to the same suspect. These are deeply regrettable incidents that have claimed three lives and caused immense pain to three families," Superintendent González said, and also expressed his solidarity with the bereaved.
Debt of more than $100,000 as possible motive
The investigation identified court documents confirming the existence of an economic dispute between Rivera Sánchez and Plaud. Both parties had reached a judicial agreement whereby a debt of more than $100,000 was acknowledged.
"As part of this investigation, we have identified William Noel Rivera Sánchez, 45 years old, as the main suspect in both murders. In these recordings, Rivera Sánchez attributes responsibility to himself for both murders. He also makes reference to an alleged economic dispute related to commercial investments," González said.
The police chief was explicit regarding the evidentiary value of the videos: "I want to be very clear: the allegations made by Rivera Sánchez in his videos are being examined and should not be interpreted as facts corroborated by our Police". Authorities continue to verify compliance with the judicial agreement and any other circumstance that could be linked to the motive for the crimes.
In the videos published on social media, Rivera Sánchez also sued Quiñones González along with Plaud, according to what emerged from the police investigation. The six-minute recording that circulated most on digital platforms was the second one, published from Santa Isabel after both murders.
Source: Google News PR — Crime