Husband Detained In Wife's Murder
On Sunday the body of Maureen Hidalgo was found, thrown over the side of the road in a ditch by the Rio Grande, on the route to Atenas. On MOnday the Fiscalía (Prosecutor's office) formally charged the husband, Luis Fernando Burgos, with the murder of his wife, but did not have sufficient evidence to hold him.

Maureen was buried on Tuesday. Borgos, a public defender working with the Poder Judicial attended the funeral of his wife. He mourned along friends and family while authorities continued to investigate the husband and patiently waiting forensic test results.

The home of the couple, as well as their vehicles, were thoroughly searched. Neighbours and friends were questioned of the movements of the husband following the disappearance of Maureen, who was reported by both Borgos and Mauren's mother the week earlier.

At first the disappearance was believed to be a kidnapping, however, no contact from kidnappers was ever received and suspicion of foul play was being cast on the husband following the receipt of an anonymous tip by the Fiscal General, Franciso Dall'Anese. That tip was never made public until after the body was found early Sunday morning.

Yesterday (Friday), Jorge Rojas, the director of the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), made public the detention of Luis Fernando Burgos, who was taken from his home in Curridabat and being held in the OIJ court cells waiting an appearance before a judge.

Rojas would not elaborate on the details of the detention, nor did he give details of evidence as a result of the forensic examination that led police to detain the man.

Burgos had been asked to submit himself to further tests in the last two days, that are believed to confirm police suspicions on the murder.

The OIJ director said that Burgos will be held until a court appearance where the Fiscalía is expected to reveal the motive behind the crime and ask the court for preventive detention for Burgos as it continues the investigation.

The Fiscalía is asking for one year preventive detention and will probably bring the case before the Juzgado de Turno Extraordinario de Alajuela, since the body was found in the province of Alajuela. Burgos has requested a hearing before an Alajuela judge and not in San José, where the couple lived and worked.

At the moment of his detention, Burgos was very nervous has is reported to have told OIJ agents that there was no need to carry him out of his house in handcuffs as he would voluntary submit himself to the Fiscalía.  Burgos, as well as his murdered wife, is a court officer working as defence counsel for the Poder Judicial.

Unofficial sources say that the forensic test results show that Maureen was strangled and that there is now enough evidence to point the finger at the husband and the reason for the detention. Burgos had been free almost the entire week since he was formally charged with the murder of his wife.

Authorities were criticized earlier in the week with letting Burgos free after he was charged. Authorities defended their actions by saying that there need to be three conditions to be met before a judge can order preventive detention: sufficient proof of having committed the crime, the accused be a flight risk and the possibility of tampering with an investigation. Until Friday, authorities did not have concrete proof of Burgos involvement and thus could not detain him.

OIJ director Rojas said that the cause of death appears to be strangulation and that they now know where the murder took place and a possible motive, however, would not elaborate on the details..

Speculation is that the murder occurred in the couple's apartment and that the motive was a crime a passion following an argument and that there might be another or others who helped move the body from the scene of the crime and dumping it at the edge of the Rio Grande on the road to Atenas, west of San José, in the province of Alajuela.

The OIJ director would only affirmed that that is one direction that the investigation is moving.