Murder of José Rafael Llenas Aybar

José Rafael Llenas-Aybar (circa 1984 – 3 May 1996) was a boy from the Dominican Republic who went missing and later found dead in May 1996. Llenas Aybar was born into an upper-middle-class white family, his parents were José Rafael Llenas Menicucci (b. 1952) and Ileana del Carmen Aybar Nadal.

Llenas Aybar’s murder was a high-profile case that gained notoriety due to the tragic nature of the murder but also because the victim was from a upper-middle-class family with very close ties to media moguls, one of the individuals accused of taking part in the crime, Mario José Redondo Llenas (“Redondo Llenas”), was a cousin of the victim, and the family of the Argentine ambassador allegedly had ties to the incident.[1]

Murder and trial

On May 4, 1996, José Rafael Llenas Aybar, the child of a middle/upper-class family of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic was found murdered, lying in a creek bed some 24 km to the northwest of the city. His body was bound in duct tape and had received thirty-four stab wounds.[2]

The victim's mother has stated that her son called her at work to ask for permission to go out with his cousin, Redondo Llenas, who lived across the street and had invited him to a motorcycle exhibition at a local supermarket, but asked the boy to be back by five in the afternoon. An hour later, Redondo Llenas called his aunt and told her that his cousin had requested to be dropped off at Sebelen Bowling Center "La Bolera" because he was meeting some friends. Mrs. Llenas has said that she found this strange, because her son didn't go out without adult supervision, so she went to the bowling center looking for him and found nothing. She then looked for him in the supermarket and found no motorcycle exhibit. She immediately called her cousin Guillermo Moncada Aybar[3] for help in finding her son.[4]

Several factors surrounding the investigation and trial hindered the discovery of the exact motives behind the crime, the number and identity of the people involved, as well as what exactly occurred that day:

According to the interrogation and trial transcripts, Redondo Llenas (18 years old at the time), under duress by Palmas de la Calzada, and Moliné Rodriguez (also 18 years old at the time) invited José Rafael Llenas Aybar out. It is unknown what exactly happened between the time the boy left his home and the time he was found dead.

The fact that the boy and the mother felt safe with Redondo Llenas suggest that up to that point in their lives Redondo Llenas was a trusted member of the family. What happened to Redondo Llenas that transformed him from trusted cousin to accomplice in murder is possibly the greatest mystery of this tragic crime.[6] He has argued exceptional duress from the Palmas’ while psychiatric tests on both Redondo Llenas and Moliné Rodriguez suggest personality disorders. The scientific value of these tests has been questioned by experts because of the manner in which the tests were performed, conclusions drawn and presented. The trial concluded in January 1997 with guilty verdicts for Redondo Llenas and Moliné Rodriguez; both were sentenced to the maximum penalty of 30 years' imprisonment and charged US$300,000 each in damages to the victim’s family. An appeal in 1999 slightly reduced Moline Rodriguez’s term to 20 years, on account that he was an accomplice.[7]

Palmas de la Calzada and his family were never prosecuted, first due to their diplomatic status which was the result of a direct designation by former Argentine president Carlos Menem, and second, because they quickly left the country, even before the Argentine government terminated their tenure.[8] Although repeatedly summoned by the Dominican authorities they never returned.

The possibility of a satanic implication to the case was discussed and caused a lot of concern among the very religious; Dominican Republic is 90% Roman Catholic. A member of the Llenas family appeared in a widely seen TV show in the Dominican Republic, Revista 110 produced by Julio Hazim, to discuss potential evidence of a satanic cult and the Palmas’ relationship to Macumba and black magic practitioners such as José López Rega, who is known as “El Brujo”.

The trial of Redondo Llenas and Moliné Rodriguez was one of the very first broadly televised in Dominican history. The broadcast highly out-rated all other programming during its course.

Further investigation by Dominican journalist and filmmaker Erwin Cott uncovered that Palmas de la Calzada was a member of ultra-rightist Argentine Anticommunist Alliance during the Dirty War, an organization said to be responsible for countless deaths and disappearances during the 1970s in Argentina.[9]

In 2007, Juan Moliné Rodríguez asked to be released on parole, which was widely criticized and ultimately rejected.[10] He tried again in 2009 but was rejected again.[11]

On November 5, 2013, Mario Redondo Llenas asked to be released on parole due to his "good behavior",[12] he apologized to his aunt and uncle for killing his 12-year-old cousin in 1996.[13] Redondo Llenas listed his involvement in prison literacy programs and his college degree as examples of his rehabilitation.[14]

References

  1. "Treinta años de cárcel por el crimen de un chico de 12 años". Edant.clarin.com. 1998-09-19. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
  2. "Video: Nuria Piera presenta este tremendo reportaje sobre el caso llenas". llevavida.com. 2013-11-07. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  3. "Asesinan a un empresario por estacionamiento". listin.com.do. 2011-11-03. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  4. "Madre de Llenas Aybar descarta ex embajadora de Argentina y familia estén involucrados". 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  5. "El regreso sin gloria de Meccia de Palmas - lanacion.com". Lanacion.com.ar. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
  6. "Perdón! Pero debo desahogarme.El hijo de su... Piiiiiiii! Mario José Redondo Llenas Autor de uno de los Crímenes mas Horrendo de RD (Asesinato de Jose Rafael Llenas Aybar) Solicita Libertad Condicional". lacorporacionmusical.net. 2013-10-25. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  7. "Moliné Rodríguez:". Perspectivaciudadana.com. 2007-06-21. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
  8. "Procesan a la ex embajadora argentina en Santo Domingo". Edant.clarin.com. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
  9. "Embajadora satánica :". www.elpatriotahn.com. 2011-06-13. Retrieved 2011-07-26.
  10. "Horrores inefables del caso Llenas Aybar". hoy.com.do. 2007-06-22. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  11. " "Corte niega otra vez la libertad a Juan Moliné". eldia.com.do. 2009-10-26. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  12. "Dos familias destrozadas por terrible crimen se enfrentan de nuevo en batalla judicial". elnuevodiario.com.do. 2013-11-03. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  13. "Autor de la muerte del niño Llenas Aybar quiere salir de la cárcel". ensegundos.net. 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  14. "Revela detalles de la vida en prisión de Mario Redondo". ciudadoriental.org. 2013-10-31. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
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