Maria Avelina Palaguachi-Cela and toddler son, Brian Palaguachi, found dead in MA trash bin/Luis Guaman is believed to be the last person to see them/Guaman sentenced to 25 years in Ecuadorean prison

A 2-year-old boy and his mother have been found dead inside a Massachusetts trash bin, leaving authorities Monday to track down whomever killed the two and put them there.
Police discovered Maria Avelina Palaguachi-Cela, 25, and her toddler son Brian Palaguachi dead in the large metal bin Sunday night in the city of Brockton, about 25 miles south of Boston. Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz did not identify any suspects in the pair's killings Monday, though he did say their deaths are not a "random act."
"We do not believe (there) is a general threat to public safety and the community," Cruz told reporters. "However, this investigation is focusing on an individual who has murdered a mother and her young child."
The investigation began Sunday, around 9:30 p.m., when Brockton police got an anonymous call about a body inside a bin behind the building where Palaguachi-Cela lived.
The woman's body was found first, and the boy's body was found sometime later. Authorities told the public the boy was dead only after getting confirmation from the state medical examiner's office Monday, according to the district attorney. He said it was his understanding that both bodies "are fully intact."
"We wanted to make sure that we had all the information that was necessary prior to making sure that we had another body," Cruz said, explaining the delay in announcing that the toddler, too, was found dead.
Brian was Palaguachi-Cela's only child living in the United States, according to the district attorney, who added that "she does have another child in another country." He did not say where that other child was, where Palaguachi-Cela was from originally, or if immigration authorities are involved in the investigation.
The mother was last seen Thursday at her home, Cruz said. Others lived at her residence, though authorities have not revealed who else lived there, and the initial investigation is focusing on relatives and friends of the victims.
Their bodies Monday were sent to the state medical examiner in Boston, who will determine the cause and manner of their deaths. The trash bin has also been moved from the scene so it can be more thoroughly examined.
While no one is yet in custody, the district attorney described the investigation as "very active." The gruesome nature of the discovery, he said, added a special urgency and sense of determination.
"Who would do that to a 2-year-old child?" Cruz said.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I just heard about this on NG this evening. What a gruesome discovery to make on Valentines Day! I wonder who could have done such an awful thing? Most likely a husband/boyfriend - I am sure that LE will be checking everything out thoroughly. So sad!

My money's on the BF for this. We will have to wait and see. Heartbreaking case either way.

HippieChick

I wonder what the wait was on telling of the babys death?

The man wanted for questioning in the slayings of a Brockton mother and her 2-year-old son will face murder charges in Ecuador if Massachusetts authorities present evidence that he killed them, an Ecuadoran prosecutor said yesterday.

Luis Guaman is believed to be the last person to see Maria Avelina Palaguachi Cela and her 2-year-old son, Brian, alive, but he boarded a flight bound for his native Ecuador hours after their bludgeoned bodies were found in a dumpster outside their Brockton apartment.

Guaman has not been charged with the killings or named as a suspect, but Massachusetts authorities said they wanted to question him, and that his unexpected departure thwarted a key part of the investigation.

Ecuador’s constitution bars extradition of its citizens, but prosecutor Patricia Inga in Cuenca — where Guaman is being held on charges of using a false passport — said the country’s criminal code allows for Ecuadorans to be prosecuted in Ecuador for crimes committed abroad.

“We are still in the investigative phase,’’ Inga said. “But if there is evidence to prosecute him for the crime, it must be done.’’

Guaman was arrested by Ecuadoran authorities shortly after he arrived in the country last week after police received a tip from his estranged wife in the United States.

He was charged with using a passport under another name, Segundo Castro, and is being held for 30 days on those charges.

When he was confronted by police, he told them he used the false passport because he was wanted for murder in Massachusetts, an agent of the judicial police in Ecuador said.

“He was very nervous in the moment,’’ the agent said.

Some questions could not be answered yesterday about how a prosecution of a crime in another country would be carried out, and how evidence gathered by investigators in the United States would be weighed in Ecuador.

Inga acknowledged such a trial would be difficult, but said that officials in Ecuador are taking steps to gather some of their own evidence.

After the arrival of the bodies of the victims on Thursday, together with a third relative who died in a roofing accident days after their deaths, authorities in Ecuador conducted their own autopsies so they would have independent medical records.

Many obstacles face Ecuadoran prosecutors, she said. The scene of the crime is thousands of miles away, and language barriers are slowing communication between US and Ecuadoran authorities.

“Unfortunately, it’s hard for everyone because it happened there,’’ she said.

She said authorities are waiting to review medical reports, evidence from Massachusetts, and other information before making a final decision to proceed with homicide charges against Guaman. She said a decision could take days, or weeks, depending on the evidence and cooperation between both countries.

The maximum sentence for homicide in Ecuador is 16 to 25 years in jail, she said.

Relatives of the victims, whose bodies were brought to their family’s home in a remote village in the mountainous region of Canar yesterday after the autopsies, had been pushing for prosecution of Guaman through a lawyer, Alfonso Andrade.

Many relatives had hoped the killer would be caught and prosecuted in the United States.

Maria Petrona Palaguachi, a cousin, her eyes filled with tears, said many were fearful that justice would not be served.

“In the United States, the laws are tougher,’’ she said. “Let’s hope something happens because we’ve seen many cases where something should have been done, and it wasn’t.’’

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

It does seem very suspicious that he would be on his way to Ecuador right after they were found murdered! I hope they extradite him back to the US (where the murders were committed), so that he can experience true justice!!

A man in custody in Ecuador has now been charged in the murder of a mother and her two-year old son in Brockton, Massachusetts.

Prosecutors have now filed murder charges against Luis Guaman.

The bodies of Maria Avelina Palaguachi-Cela and her son Brian were found in a trash bin last month.

Prosecutors say evidence found alongside the bodies links Guaman, the victim's roommate, to the murders.

But Guaman traveled to his native Ecuador after the crimes. An international warrant for Guaman's arrest has been issued.

But it's unclear if Ecuador will agree to extradite him.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

He sure looks like a murderer! I am glad that the district attorney is seeking to have him extradited to the U.S. for trial. Hopefully Ecuador will agree to this!

BROCKTON —
Luis Guaman has been sentenced to 25 years in an Ecuadorean prison for murdering a mother and her 2-year-old son in Brockton in February 2011, The Boston Globe reported online Tuesday.
It is the maximum penalty allowed in that country.
A three-judge court convicted Guaman on April 30 for the of the murders of Maria Avelina Palaguachi-Cela, 25, and her son Brian.
Guaman faced 16-25 years for the murders. In the United States, he could have received multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole if convicted.
Guaman fled to Ecuador using a fake passport shortly before police found the two bodies. The two were bludgeoned to death with a sledgehammer and left in a trash bin outside their Warren Avenue apartment.
Ecuadorean officials declined to extradite Guaman to the United States to stand trial, declaring that their constitution prohibits extradition. Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz refused to cooperate with Ecuadorean prosecutors in convicting Guaman and has continuously called for Guaman’s return.
Guaman was prosecuted without evidence from the crime and without a jury.
Read more: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

OMG, he is scary looking!!