Dallas-based American Airlines flight attendant murder suspects arrested in Peru
DALLAS - Two suspects have been arrested in Peru for allegedly drugging and murdering an American Airlines flight attendant based in Dallas.
Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina, 32, disappeared in March after a night out in Colombia during a layover. His body was found days later.
Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina's Murder
Fernando Gutierrez
What's new:
On Monday, investigators in Colombia announced that two suspects linked to Gutierrez Molina’s death were captured and arrested in Peru.
They also released video and images of the duo being taken into custody and processed by authorities.
Authorities in Peru arrested two suspect for an American Airlines flight attendant's murder in Colombia.
What we don't know:
The names of the two suspects have not yet been released.
Authorities also detained a woman in connection to the case but did not indicate how she was involved.
No details about a motive were released, but authorities did say the suspects are all members of the Los Goteros gang, a criminal organization in Colombia known to target tourists and visitors.
There were also reports that a drug known as Scopolamine, which is also sometimes referred to as Dragon’s Breath or Devil’s Breath, was involved.
What they're saying:
FOX 4 spoke to Gutierrez Molina’s sister on the phone. She said her family isn’t ready to give an interview, but they are glad "justice will be served."
American Airlines and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants have not yet responded to requests for comment.
Big picture view:
The United States Embassy in Colombia's capital city of Bogota praised the cooperation between law enforcement agencies from all three countries being able to make the arrests.
"In a complex investigation like this where you have a victim from the United States, a crime that took place in Colombia, and the suspects being located in Peru, it’s a lot of moving pieces requiring a lot of cooperation between different law enforcement agencies. And so the fact that there was good relationships between Colombians and Peru, as far as law enforcement goes, made this work out more smoothly," said Ken Gray, a professor of practice in Homeland Security at the University of New Haven.
"When something like this happens, the FBI is notified. They open a case and they start investigating with the assistance of the local host country – law enforcement agencies and in some cases it’s military. The military has in many countries that I’ve been in, they have a law enforcement function. So, sometimes that’s what happens. So, I’m sure they started the investigation. They probably developed leads and like in any case, I mean, it’s done. It wouldn’t be done any different. That’s just police work, hitting the bricks, interviewing people, trying to look at cameras, trying to do everything that you would do stateside to try to figure out who may have been involved," said retired FBI special agent Gil Torrez.
What's next:
One of the suspects has already been brought back to Colombia.
The second remains in the custody of the Peruvian authorities, awaiting extradition proceedings.
They are expected to appear before a judge in Colombia for the murder charge.
"Once they are both in Columbia, I think we will learn a lot more details about exactly what transpired here. We'll learn who they are and what connections they may have. This connection to visitors of tourists being victims of this drug. Dragon's Breath is an interesting aspect of this. That in itself hurts the tourist trade in this area," Gray said.
American Airlines Flight Attendant Missing in Colombia
Flight attendant from Dallas missing in Colombia
An American Airlines flight attendant based out of Dallas has been reported missing in Colombia. FOX 4's Alex Boyer has more.
The backstory:
Gutierrez Molina was a flight attendant for American Airlines who disappeared in March while in Medellin for a routine layover, according to local reports. He was scheduled to stay overnight before working a flight to Miami the following day.
He reportedly shared his location at an Airbnb shortly before he went missing. Friends and coworkers later filed a missing person report with local authorities.
His body was located a few days later between Jerico and Puente Iglesias.
Dallas-based American Airlines flight attendant found dead in Colombia
Fernando Gutierrez, a Dallas-based American Airlines flight attendant who disappeared in Colombia earlier this week, has been found dead.
The Source: The information in this story