Parents of murdered girl, Valeria Cortés show her violin
The recent murder of a young couple, aged 15 and 16 in Cartago outlines a disturbing trend of missing teenagers in Costa Rica. In the Cartago case a 21 year old farm worker confessed to a priest, and later told police that he killed them in order to steal their digital camera.
The Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ) received a total of 853 missing persons complaints in 2013. Of these, 245 complaints were for people aged 13 to 17 years.