Formal Charges in Costa Rica Against Alleged Expat Killer
Tribunales de Justicia in San Jose, Costa Rica
A formal complaint against William Dathan Holbert and Laura Michelle Reese for the murder of Wisconsin Attorney Jeffery A. Kline has been filed with prosecutors in Costa Rica. The complainant is Don Winner, an expatriate journalist from Panama, and he came to Costa Rica this past week and provided sworn statements, documents and other evidence before the Fiscalía General de la República.
Don Winner is also the person credited with bringing the original suspicions of the expatriate community in Bocas Del Torro before prosecutors in the Republic of Panama. This investigation prompted the discovery of the body determined to be Cher Lynn Hughes on property she owned prior to William Dathan Holbert. At the time Holbert living under the alias of “Wild” Bill Cortez became a fugitive, and fled Panama through Costa Rica before his apprehension at the Nicarguan border.
Holbert gave his real name to police in Nicaragua, which is when it became apparent he was an America’s Most Wanted in the United States. As the property fraud and auto theft charges against him in two states are relatively minor in comparison to the alleged murders Holbert and his companion Laura Michelle Reese were transfered to Panama.
Holbert has since confessed to prosecutors in Panama to the murder of five United States citizens, and the formal allegation made before prosecutors in Costa Rica by Don Winner will likely prompt the reinvestigation of a cold case from 2007 when a body was discovered beneath a home in Puerto Viejo.
According to Don Winner the body is a missing person from Wisconsin, Jeffery A. Kline and he has documented the history of both Kline and Holbert in Costa Rica since the time they met at at the Best Western Irazu in 2007.
More Victims in Costa Rica?
Dragon Fly Scooters in Puerto Viejo
Of course the obvious concern is the search for more victims in Costa Rica. While it is unlikely that Holbert will ever be a free man again it is important to determine who else might be missing.
William Holbert and his companion Michelle Reese were known to be active in Puerto Viejo, Jaco, and occasionally in San Jose. There are also reports of them in Arenal, which is where they went to ground after fleeing Panama.
Holbert had no trouble getting around the country in as his first business in Costa Rica was to buy and sell vehicles. It’s likely that the $100,000 Holbert is alleged to have stolen from Kline financed this operation along with a blackmail scheme in Jaco.
Anyone with suspicious should take a close look at the full report of Don Winner and either get in contact with him or the officials named in the report. The contact in Costa Rica he identifies is Laura Monge Cantero and she works for the Fiscala Coordinadora in the Oficina de Asesoría Técnica y Relaciones Internacionales for the Fiscalía General de la República.
Information and photos for this article were provided by Don Winner and the Panama Guide.
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