Body of Man Killed at Miami International Arrives in Costa Rica For Burial
The body of Rigoberto Alpizar, shot dead by U.S. air marshals in Florida last week after he allegedly said he had a bomb arrived yesterday in his native Costa Rica, where funeral services were held in Cariari de Guapiles, 110 kilometres east of San José.

U.S. federal officials say Rigoberto Alpizar made a bomb threat in the jetway at the Miami International Airport after running frantically out of a plane. They said they opened fire because Alpizar ignored their orders to stop, instead reaching into his backpack.

No bomb was found after last Wednesday's shooting. Witnesses said his wife frantically shouted amid the chaos that he was bipolar, and hadn't taken his medication.

The man's father, Carlos Alpizar, who received the body at the San Jose airport said his son was unjustly killed "because there was no time between talking to him and shooting to kill him.''

"It was absurd what they did,'' his father said of U.S. marshals.

Rigoberto Alpizar's family in Costa Rica has said they were unaware he suffered from any mental illness. Carlos Alpizar said his son called him often and came home last July to accompany him to see a doctor for a heart problem.

The family attended a Mass in Alpizar's honor Tuesday at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Cariari de Pococi. He was to be buried next to his mother, who died 11 years ago.

His brother, Rolando Alpizar, said the family is still waiting for an explanation from U.S. authorities.

Rigoberto Alpizar, 44, left Costa Rica for the United States two decades ago. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen and worked for the U.S. hardware chain Home Depot, living in the Orlando suburb of Maitland.