Suspected rapist, killer buried alive with victim in Bolivia
(WPVI) -- Villagers in Bolivia's
southern highlands buried a man
alive in the grave of the woman he
is suspected of having raped and
murdered, an official said
Thursday.
Police had identified 17-year-old
Santos Ramos as the possible
culprit in the attack on 35-year-old
Leandra Arias Janco Sunday in a
Quechua community near the
municipality of Colquechaca, said
Jose Luis Barrios, the chief
prosecutor in Potosi province
where the community is located.
Enraged, more than 200
community members seized Ramos
and buried him alive alongside his
alleged victim Wednesday night,
according to Barrios. He said
residents on Thursday blocked the
road to the community, preventing
police and prosecutors from
reaching it.A local reporter for an indigenous
radio station, who would only
speak on condition of anonymity
for fear of reprisals, told The AP
that Ramos was tied up at the
woman's funeral. Mourners threw
him into the open grave, placed
the woman's coffin in it and filled
the grave with earth.
Colquechaca is a town of 5,000
inhabitants located 207 miles (333
kilometers) southeast of Bolivia's
capital, La Paz.
Also in Potosi, residents of the
Quechua indigenous community of
Tres Cruces on Wednesday stoned
to death a suspected thief and
burned his accomplice alive,
Barrios said. The official said the
two had earlier robbed a car and
killed its driver.
Lynchings sometimes occur in rural
and poor parts of Bolivia where
police and other authorities are
scarce.