Sources linked to the investigation reported that the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Sciences (Imelcf) delivered the report of the necropsy of the seven bodies to the Office of the Homicide and Femicide of Colón. No other signs of torture were found.

According to this report, five bodies were inside a bunker at Fuerte Espinar in the vicinity of Lake Gatún and two on the outside. The multiple homicide was committed on Friday, July 17, when a group of 13 young people went out for a walk at about 10:00 am, to swim in Gatun Lake, but never returned.

The group of seven victims consists of three men and four women between the ages of 15 and 25, all with a gunshot wound to the head, indicating that they were executed.

Investigation is on-going

Yesterday, the crime experts also analyzed a series of evidence found at the crime scene, which could shed more light.

They have also checked the content of the survivors' cell phone messages to see what kind of communications they had in the group.

The bodies were found on Saturday by residents of Cristóbal and relatives of the victims, after on Friday the survivors reported that two hooded and armed subjects intercepted them, robbed them and detained their companions.

Nine of the boys were from Colón province and four from Panama. According to what the survivors told investigators about the events indicates that those who were out of the water - about six - were able to escape and reach the Margarita police station. Apparently one of the attackers was known to one of the victims, because he called him by name.

Apparently the assassins had asked who was from the area and that they had let those who did not live nearby go. In fact, the fatalities had in common that they were from Valle Verde in Puerto Escondido.

Now the survivors receive assistance from the Unit for the Protection of Victims, Witnesses, Experts and other participants in the criminal process (UPAVIT) of the Public Ministry.

Preliminary data details that none of the 13 youth had ties to crimes or gangs. By contrast, most were high school and college students.

Among the victims were two minor sisters: one was 15 years old and the other was 16. Likewise, there were two older sisters: 21 and 18 years old.

One of the murdered boys, 17, was a Colombian national and had arrived in the country before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March.

From the same Friday the parents began the search for their children, discovering that it was getting late and they did not arrive or communicate.

A group of relatives moved to the Villa del Caribe police sub station, where they gave notice of the disappearance, in principle, of the 13 young people.

A suspect

In this case, the prosecution arrested a suspect – a 19-year-old man – in the Achiote community, in Costa Abajo de Colón, who lives in the Valle Verde community, where the victims resided.

It was reported that the prosecutor Adolfo Pineda, who is in charge of the investigation, requested a hearing for the legalization of the apprehension, formulation of the accusation and application of precautionary measures.

The sources explained that one of the hypotheses of the prosecution is that it could be a crime of passion. Yesterday, the prosecution interviewed the six survivors separately to establish the consistency of the stories.

At the same time, this weekend, audios were circulated in which it was pointed out that the youth 'saw something in the area that they had nothing to do with.'

The crime was perpetrated in a wooded area quite remote in the old Fort Gullick (today Fort Espinar). In the place there are some abandoned bunkers that were used by the United States Southern Command for military operations.

Some residents of the place assure that this place, being separated from the communities, is used for activities related to drug trafficking, but until now the authorities have no evidence to support a hypothesis like this.

The authorities, from the Minister of Public Security, Juan Pino, to the director of the Police, Jorge Miranda, have warned that they will find the culprits of this multiple homicide, which joins that of El Terrón, where seven people were killed in January past.

Church calls for action

The Diocese of Colón and Guna Yala, in a statement, regretted the crimes and asked the community of Colón to combat violence and crime that involves children and young people, making them victims and victimizers.

Statistics from the Public Ministry reveal that until last June in the province of Colón a total of 46 homicides had been reported.

According to the authorities, most of these homicides are related to settling of accounts related to the sale of drugs and disputes between gangs.

The figures make Colón the third province with the most homicides, second only to the provinces of Panama with 97 homicides and Panama Oeste with 58.