Tourist Sara Kuszak Kidnapped, Has Throat Slashed
Sara Kuszak, 35, was abducted while jogging on the island.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Feb. 5, 2009 — -- A Puerto Rico man confessed to killing a pregnant tourist who was kidnapped as she was jogging in this U.S. Caribbean territory, police said Thursday.
Eliezer Marquez Navedo, 36, apparently acted alone in a randomcrime, said Antonio Lopez, police investigations chief in theeastern city of Fajardo. Marquez had not yet been charged.
Sara Kuszak made a desperate call for help from the trunk of herkidnapper's car Wednesday, about an hour before she was found deadwith her throat slashed. Police arrested Marquez, whose clothingwas covered with blood, based on the victim's description of thevehicle.
Police say Marquez told police he abducted Kuszak after seeingher jogging alone.
"He opened the trunk, he waited for her to pass by and heforced her into the trunk," Lopez said.
Investigating officer Arsenio Rodriguez said the FBI used asignal from the victim's cell phone to help locate the suspect.Kuszak's fiance had called the FBI, which turned the case over tolocal police.
Kuszak, 35, who moved to Savannah, Georgia, from San Franciscoabout five years ago, arrived Tuesday night in Puerto Rico, whereshe met up with her fiance and several friends.
"She was looking forward to the rest of her life with herfiance and her unborn baby," her friend Matt Daniel said in aphone interview from Georgia. "I'm just devastated. I don't knowwho would do something like that."
Kuszak, who worked on sailboats and part-time in real estate andcatering, was five months pregnant, friends said.
She and her fiance, Cheshire McIntosh, met several years ago ona South Pacific island where she was vacationing and he was sailinga yacht, said another friend in Georgia, John Everette.
Kuszak apparently was going to visit some friends whose yachtwas docked in Fajardo, marina spokeswoman Frances Rios said.Kuszak's cell phone call for help was placed to a marina employeewho then called 911.
Police would not release a transcript of the marina employee's911 call because the case is under investigation.