Murder and Mayhem in Bocas del Toro
By Juan Carlos Martinez
A few weeks ago this paradisaic island in the Republic of Panama was rocked by a scandal similar to any of the big blockbuster suspense movies. Headlines of “A serial killer in Bocas” showed up in all the newspapers. The manhunt was on. Panama and much less Bocas del Toro, has never seen a story quite like this. Again it has all the elements to be a movie hit: action, death, love and greed.
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Bocas del Toro is an island where people come and go. It is the usual laid back, Caribbean little town full of foreigners who come and go at will. It is not strange that people buy property then suddenly sell them and move elsewhere with little notice. For this reason the strange disappearances of foreigners with properties was not noticed immediately. Early this year Mr. Bo Icelar was reported missing by a Realtor friend in Bocas who had been trying to reach him unsuccessfully however it was generally believed that he had moved as he had expressed his desire to do so. His property in Bocas was a large house located in the area of Big Creek and shortly after his disappearance a gentleman by the name of William Cortez stated that he owned the property.
In June 2010 another foreigner was reported missing to the authorities. Ms. Cheryl Hughes had been out of touch with close friends and relatives for several months and they became increasingly worried until they filed a missing persons report with the police in Bocas del Toro. The report was directly linked to Mr. William Cortez as he had already announced around town that he was the owner of Ms. Hughes properties. The story he had put out was that she had had a breakdown, sold him the properties and gone home. Ms. Hughes owned a hostel called Casa del Sapo on Isla Carenero and a house on Isla Mono right next to Hacienda Cortez (Mr. Cortez's home).
Now concerned the police headed to Cortez's house with a search warrant hoping to find any indication of Ms. Hughes whereabouts. What they found was her passport without any exit stamps, credit cards and bank cards. It quickly became obvious that she had not left the area. Increasingly concerned they queried Mr. Cortez's employees who declared that the boss had asked them to dig a deep whole to put garbage in. Further investigation revealed that below the garbage Ms. Hughe's body had been buried. Upon further queries they located another burial site where Mr. Bo Icelar's body had been buried.
Mr. William Cortez's real name is William Dathan Holbert and he arrived in Bocas del Toro in 2008 and started acquiring property. To this date he had collected four houses in Bocas del Toro plus three in the Chiriqui highlands all estimated at approximately $2 million dollars. To people in Bocas he was known as “Wild Bill”, a large, curly haired blond man who loved to have fun with an engaging, outgoing personality. He was accompanied in Bocas by his girlfriend Jane Seana Cortez whose real name is Laura Michelle Reese.
On arriving at his property the authorities discovered he and his girlfriend had fled and the manhunt was on. They were finally captured in Nicaragua traveling on a river where they dumped the boat pilot into the river and tried to evade the police patrol. It proved unsuccessful and they were captured and a few days later released by Nicaraguan authorities into Panamanian custody.
The full story is quite complex and there is no single version to be seen in the media as yet however Wild Bill is suspected of 10 murders although only two bodies have been found. The fact is Wild Bill and his girlfriend are currently detained in Panama and charges have been brought against both individuals while the investigations continue.
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