Body Discovered In Lantana FL, 1/6/09 [ID: JOSE GONZALEZ/4 ARRESTED]

[sarahhod]

Buried Body Discovered In Lantana
Body Could Be Of Missing Person

http://www.wpbf.com/news/18421047/detail.html

POSTED: 11:04 am EST January 6, 2009
UPDATED: 3:47 pm EST January 6, 2009


LANTANA, Fla. -- The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is investigating after a buried body was discovered in Lantana on Tuesday.

Detectives from the Palm Springs Police Department and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office violent crimes task force are at the scene recovering the body as part of a missing persons investigation.

Once the body is recovered, it will be taken to the medical examiner's office and an autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death.

The body was discovered at 4965 Lantana Road.

[sarahhod]

Body found in Lantana

http://www.wptv.com/mostpopular/story/Body-found-in-Lantana/L-L4nNGEWUOMliGC0J01TA.cspx

Reported by: Danielle Dubetz
Email: ddubetz@wptv.com
Last Update: 1:43 pm

LANTANA, FL-- NewsChannel 5 has exclusive details of the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office discovery of a body in suburban Lantana.

Authorities say the body belongs to a man whod been missing from Palm Springs since August.

Sources close to the investigation say detectives immediately determined there was foul play when the man initially went missing. They have been searching ever since.

Sources say they were led to an area on Nash Tr. near Haverhill Rd. through a tip from an informant. Some time last week they brought K-9s to search the area but found nothing.

In another search last night, detectives located a pile of tires in the wooded area. Underneath the tires they found a shallow grave where the victim had been buried.

Those who live in this community are shocked something like this could happen so close to home.

Yeah just disgusted that this stuff happens all too often, said Sharon Reis who lives in the area, Literally this is my back yard.

Sources say the man has family in Palm Beach County, also in New York. Authorities are in the process of notifying the family. The Sheriffs Office says the Medical Examiner is stepping in to determine the cause of death, indicating they know the identity of the body although they have not formally released his name.

[sarahhod]

Body found near Lantana called 'suspicious death'

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2009/01/06/0106_body.html?imw=Y


By CHRISTINA DeNARDO and ANDREW MARRA

Palm Beach Post Staff Writers

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Detectives this morning dug up a body buried near an overgrown dirt road west of Lantana.

The corpse, found on Nash Trail near Haverhill and Lantana roads, might be the remains of a person who went missing in August, according to Palm Springs police and Palm Beach County Violent Crimes Task Force investigators.

Authorities had yet to make public the dead person's name or gender.

Detectives discovered the body after getting a tip through the Palm Springs police, who brought in the multi-agency task force, authorities said.

Last week, sheriff's deputies were sweeping the area with police dogs, and on Tuesday afternoon a sheriff's green-and-white sat parked near the grave for a few hours, local property owners said.

Officials are terming the find a "suspicious death."

The body was taken to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy.

[sarahhod]

Missing person investigation discovers body near Lantana

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-0106-bn-lantanabody,0,867288.story



LANTANA - Authorities looking for a missing person say they found a body west of Lantana this morning.

The body, found in the 4600 block of Lantana Road, has not been identified.

An ongoing investigation between Palm Springs police and the county Violent Crimes Task Force led to the body, according to the task force.

Authorities have not said who the missing person is.

An autopsy will be conducted to identify the body and to determine the cause of death.

[sarahhod]

Buried Body Could Be Missing Palm Springs Man
Body Found Buried Under Dirt Road In Lantana

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28523167/

WPBF-TV
updated 10:47 p.m. ET Jan. 6, 2009



LANTANA, Fla. - Authorities said they believe a buried body found in Lantana on Tuesday could be that of a missing Palm Springs man.

Detectives from the Palm Springs Police Department and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office violent crimes task force discovered the body after responding to a tip that led them to a dirt road off Lantana Road.

Police said the body could be that of a Palm Springs man missing since August.
Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here

"We have reason to believe it could be, but we don't know that for a fact until an autopsy is completed and we're able to make positive identification," PBSO spokeswoman Teri Barbera said.

A worker from a nearby construction site told WPBF News 25's Terri Parker that he believes whoever buried the body used a backhoe from the site to do it. He said the backhoe was broken into in August and covered in mud as if someone was trying to cover his or her tracks.

Palm Springs police said they had been to the location before, but nearby residents and workers said that despite a lingering odor, no body was ever found.

The body was taken to the medical examiner's office, where an autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death.

[sarahhod]

Detectives wait for information on buried body

http://www.cbs12.com/news/palm_4712622___article.html/body_springs.html

January 6, 2009 - 6:37 PM
Chuck Weber

A tip led detectives to the discovery of a body-- buried next to a construction site near Greenacres. So far investigators are calling it a "suspicious death."

Detectives say the discovery Tuesday may be tied to a missing person case. Investigators hope to learn more about the body during an autopsy scheduled for Wednesday.

Members of Palm Beach County's Violent Crimes Task Force joined officers from Palm Springs, swarming a dirt road called Nash Trail. The road is a block north of the intersection of Lantana and Haverhill Roads, where a shopping center is being built. The burial site was found on a public easement of the shopping center property.

A neighbor tells CBS 12 he saw a Palm Springs Police officer there Monday. "He was talking to two people and I just didn't think anything of it," said Chris Howard, who lives just up Haverhill Road. "He was there for like a couple hours."

Then this morning Howard noticed the crime scene tape and heavy police presence, and he knew something big had happened.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office says the body could be tied to a man reported missing out of Palm Springs several months ago. But until the autopsy is done, investigators emphasize they don't even know if the remains are that of a man or woman, if it's the missing man from Palm Springs, or if they're dealing with a murder.

[sarahhod]

Two arrests made after body discovered buried in Lantana

http://www.cbs12.com/articles/palm_4712639___article.html/body_arrests.html

January 6, 2009 - 10:49 PM



Detectives believe the body recovered this morning buried at a construction site in the 4900 block of Lantana Road is a missing person from Palm Springs.

Investigators made two arrests in this case tonight and expect to make a third. One person is charged with murder, while the other is charged with being an accessory after the fact for helping to bury the body.

The Palm Beach County Violent Crimes Task Force said both suspects have cooperated with investigators and have confessed to their involvement.

Detectives have not released the names of the suspects. Investigators are still on the case tonight serving search warrants and expect to make the third arrest overnight. Detectives are withholding the name of the missing person until the autopsy is complete.

The case is being investigated by the task force along with the Palm Springs Police Department.

[sarahhod]

Body found buried is missing Palm Springs man

http://www.wptv.com/news/local/story/Body-found-buried-is-missing-Palm-Springs-man/bcjtrMe7EkGCoEFh6QhAzQ.cspx

Reported by: WPTV staff
Email: webteam@wptv.com
Last Update: 1/06 10:56 pm


PALM SPRINGS, FL -- A body recovered at the 4900 block of Lantana Road is a man who went missing from Palm Springs in August 2008.

Two suspects have confessed to detectives of their crime.

The suspects names are being witheld until another arrest is made and the investigating is complete.

One suspect is charged with murder. Another is charged with accessory to murder after the fact.

The first suspect murdered the man. The second suspect is charged because they helped dispose of the body.

The name of the victim is not yet released until the Medical Examiner's Office can make a positive i.d. on him.

Detectives say the names of the suspects will be released Wednesday.

[sarahhod]

Palm Beach County: Autopsy scheduled today

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-flp4bdig01071pnjan07,0,6614738.story

January 7, 2009

Authorities looking for a person missing since August say they found a body west of Lantana on Tuesday morning.

The body, found in the 4600 block of Lantana Road, has not been identified.

An ongoing investigation between Palm Springs police and the county Violent Crimes Task Force led to the body, according to the task force.

Authorities have not said who the missing person is.

An autopsy will be conducted today to identify the body and to determine the cause of death.

[sarahhod]

Third suspect arrested in the case of body dug up in Lake Worth

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2009/01/07/0107bodyarrests.html


By Sonja Isger

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, January 07, 2009



Three men now sit in the county jail after two confessed to murdering a man and burying his body in a grave investigators discovered yesterday west of Lantana, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

The corpse, found on Nash Trail near Haverhill and Lantana roads, are believed to be the remains of a person who went missing in August, according to Palm Springs police and Palm Beach County Violent Crimes Task Force investigators.

While, authorities have not released the identity or gender of the victim, the three in jail will appear before a judge this morning.

Pedro Luis Santiagovega, a 40-year-old Lake Worth man, is charged with homicide. Jose Ramirez, 28, of Greenacres faces charges including armed kidnapping and 44-year-old Freddy Silvagnoli is charged with accessory to murder after the fact and tampering with evidence, according to the jail's booking records.

Detectives discovered the body after getting a tip through the Palm Springs police, which brought in the multi-agency task force, authorities said.

Investigators arrested their first two suspects within hours.

Santiagovega confessed to murdering the victim and has been charged with homicide. The other confessed to helping to hide the body and has been charged with being an accessory to murder after the fact.

Last week, sheriff's deputies were sweeping the area with police dogs, and on Tuesday afternoon a sheriff's green-and-white sat parked near the grave for a few hours, local property owners said.

The body was taken to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy.

[packy]

I'm glad someone gave them a good tip. He may never have been found.

[Grande]

BREAKING NEWS: Three arrests made after body discovered buried in Lantana
January 6, 2009 - 10:49 PM

Detectives believe the body recovered Tuesday morning buried at a construction site in the 4900 block of Lantana Road is a missing person from Palm Springs.

Investigators have made three arrests in this case. Pedro Santiago-Vega is charged with murder, Freddy Silvagnoli is charged with being an accessory after the fact for helping to bury the body. Jose Ramon Ramirez is charged with armed kidnapping.

The Palm Beach County Violent Crimes Task Force said two of the suspects have cooperated with investigators and have confessed to their involvement.

Detectives are withholding the name of the deceased until the autopsy is complete.

The case is being investigated by the task force along with the Palm Springs Police Department.

http://www.cbs12.com/articles/palm_4712639___article.html/body_arrests.html

[Grande]

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[Grande]

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[Grande]

http://i40.tinypic.com/mt1jyu.jpg

[Amusedtdth]

What a motley crew they make. And the second one is smiling no less.......Thank God they are off the streets. I feel for the victims family right now.

[sarahhod]

Body find unveils tale of torture, murder

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2009/01/07/0107bodyarrests.html?imw=Y

Thursday, January 08, 2009

The two brothers thought Jose Gonzalez had their money.

So, they stormed the 37-year-old's Palm Springs apartment and kidnapped him and his girlfriend, authorities say. They took them to a garage, tied them to chairs, beat Jose with a cord and doused him in gasoline.

When they were done, detectives say they put a plastic bag over Jose's head and shot a bullet through it. Then they buried him in the back yard.

Two days later, they dug him up to bury him elsewhere.

The harrowing torture-and-murder scene unfolded over a half-hour or more at a house near Greenacres in late August, detectives say.

But it wasn't until the discovery of a body Tuesday in a roadside grave off Lantana Road that investigators pieced together the evidence necessary to make arrests in what they said appeared to be a vicious attempt to recover $15,000 in stolen drug money.

"It does sound like something you'd read in a book or see in a movie," said Lt. Michael Wallace, head of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office's Violent Crimes Task Force. "It's extremely violent, and unfortunately we are dealing with people who are extremely violent."

On Wednesday, one of the two alleged torturers and killers was arrested, along with two other men whom officials say helped dispose of the body.

Investigators from the Violent Crimes Task Force said Wednesday they were still looking for the second brother, identified in an arrest report as John Gonzalez, wanted in connection with the abduction and killing.

The brother already arrested was identified as Jose Ramon Ramirez, 28, of Greenacres, who officials say will face felony murder and armed kidnapping charges. Also arrested were Pedro Luis Santiago-Vega, 40, and Freddy Silvagnoli, 44, both of western Lake Worth.

Detectives had suspected Jose Gonzalez had been killed because he'd been reported missing by his cousin in late August.

But it wasn't until an informant came forward claiming to know where he was buried that the case broke.

After three searches of a construction site at the corner of Haverhill and Lantana roads, investigators unearthed a skeleton. They now believe the skeleton is Jose Gonzalez's remains, although they say an autopsy is needed to confirm the identity.

Detectives' interviews with the informant, and later with some of the suspects themselves, paint a grisly picture that started with the kidnapping of the man and a woman at gunpoint in the early morning hours of that August day.

Those charged say the two brothers dragged Jose Gonzalez and his girlfriend, Jiselle Woolley, 36, to Silvagnoli's home at 4763 Bertha St. near Greenacres.

Silvagnoli was there and so was his wife and Santiago-Vega. The two men caused such a commotion that they woke Silvagnoli's wife, who started yelling, Santiago-Vega told police.

According to interviews with Silvagnoli, Santiago-Vega and Woolley, the brothers were angry and accused Gonzalez of stealing $15,000. .

Silvagnoli eventually left for work; he says he admonished the brothers not to commit any violence at his house.

Instead, Jose Gonzales and Woolley were taken to the garage, where Gonzalez was tortured, beaten and shot, according to police summaries of their interviews.

Gonzalez's screams were so loud, Santiago-Vega told police, that someone turned on an air compressor to muffle the noise.

He said he later scouted the area to see if anyone heard the ruckus. And the scene was so bloody, Santiago-Vega told police, that he "sanitized" it.

While they tortured Gonzalez, the brothers allegedly kept asking where the money was. Detectives say Gonzalez repeated that he didn't have it but could take them to get it.

After Gonzalez was killed, Woolley was taken to the apartment of one of the brothers, a hoodie covering her face, she told investigators.

On Wednesday, Jose Gonzalez's cousin, Carmen Cortes, said her family was still shocked and saddened by the death, even though they had suspected for a long time that he was dead.

Cortes said Gonzalez, who moved to Palm Beach County from Trenton, N.J., a few years ago, had battled drug addiction.

She said that although the two alleged killers must have thought he had played a role in robbing them, she said it was more likely that a friend of Jose Gonzalez did the robbery.

"I'm crying all the time," Cortes said. "He was more like a brother to me than a cousin."

Staff writer Christine Denardo and staff researcher Niels Heimeriks contributed to this story.

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[sarahhod]

PBSO: Kidnapping, torture and murder of man

http://www.wptv.com/news/local/story/PBSO-Kidnapping-torture-and-murder-of-man/d4NPM6mEd0K6bkqkDQsoag.cspx

Reported by: Danielle Dubetz
Email: ddubetz@wptv.com
Photographer: Glenn Weston
Last Update: 1/07 9:28 pm



SUBURBAN WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- For Carmen Cortes, the last few days have been bitter-sweet.

“We found him, we have him at least but we were hoping he was alive,” she said.

She shares photos of her cousin, Jose Gonzalez, who she reported missing in August when he didn't pick up his niece from the airport.

“He loved her so much, I mean, we knew something wrong had to happen in order for him to do that,” said Cortes.

Since then, Palm Springs Police and now the Sheriffs Office have kept the pressure on suspects. Three of them are in custody.

Jose Ramirez is charged with armed kidnapping.

Pedro Santiago-Vega is facing felony murder and Freddy Silvagnoli is charged with serving as an accessory to the crime after the fact.

Statements given to detectives by informants and suspects detail how Gonzalez and his girlfriend at the time, Jiselle Wooley, were taken to a home on Bertha Street. Wooley survived but Gonzalez was tied to a chair and gagged.

“The male victim was tortured. He was doused with gasoline. He was told he was going to be set on fire. He wasn’t,” said Lt. Mike Wallace with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Violent Crimes Division.

Reports say he was shot and buried behind the garage.

Investigators were told that the body was moved to a location on Nash Trail two days after the murder. An informant came forward and told them where to find it.

Finding the body was the turning-point for the investigation, evidence that encouraged suspects to confess.

For Cortes, who will now only see her cousin in photos, finding his body was only the beginning.

“Very unfair. I want every one of them caught to pay for what they did to my cousin. He didn’t deserve to die like that,” she said.

Detectives believe this all happened over $15 thousand dollars.

They expect to make more arrests in this case.

For now Ramirez and Santiago-Vega are being held without bond. Silvagnoli will be on house arrest if he can post his $500,000 bond.

[sarahhod]

Fourth Suspect Sought In Buried Body Case
Buried Body Believed To Be Of Palm Springs Man Allegedly Tortured, Killed


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28583749/

updated 4:46 p.m. ET Jan. 11, 2009


http://i40.tinypic.com/2rfzsx5.jpg
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. - The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is searching for a fourth suspect in connection with a buried body found Tuesday in Lantana.

John Lee Morales Gonzalez is wanted on felony murder, aggravated assault and armed kidnapping charges. Pedro Luis Santiago-Vega, Jose Ramirez and Freddy Silvagnoli were arrested early Wednesday morning.

Detectives from the Palm Springs Police Department and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office violent crimes task force discovered the body after responding to a tip that led them to a dirt road off Haverhill Road.

The body is believed to be that of a Palm Springs man missing since August.

According to the probable cause affidavits, the victim was kidnapped at gunpoint and brought to Silvagnoli's Lake Worth home, where he was tied up in the garage, doused with gasoline, beaten with electrical wire and had a plastic bag placed on his head before he was shot to death. The affidavit said the victim owed his captors $15,000.

"This was not something that lasted five minutes," Lt. Mike Wallace said. "This lasted awhile -- you know, an hour or two -- and it was torture."

Detectives said a West Palm Beach woman was also abducted but later let go. That woman identified one of her kidnappers as Ramirez, said Silvagnoli gave her kidnappers keys to the garage and then left for work, and said Santiago-Vega stayed behind.

According to the affidavit, Santiago-Vega confessed to his involvement in the crime and said someone turned on an air compressor to drown out the victim's screams.

"The male victim was then buried on the property on Bertha Street, and then two days later was dug up and brought to the location … where we discovered his remains," Wallace said.

The victim has not yet been identified.

[sarahhod]

Palm Beach County: Suspect in killing held in Puerto Rico

January 21, 2009

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flp4bdig01212pnjan21,0,6065149.story



A fourth man was arrested Tuesday in the murder of a Palm Springs man whose body was buried on a roadside west of Lantana and only discovered months later, authorities said.

John Lee Morales Gonzalez, 20, was arrested in Puerto Rico on charges of murder and kidnapping, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said.

Gonzalez is the fourth man arrested in the death of 37-year-old Jose Gonzalez, who was reported missing in August. In December, police acting on an informant's tip unearthed Gonzalez's skeleton near Nash Trail and Haverhill Road.

[Roamer]

I'm glad they caught the fourth man.

RIP Mr. Gonzalez

[Nut44x4]

Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
October 21, 2009 Wednesday

A toothache in life is what led to Jose Gonzalez's identification after death.

His body was found in a makeshift grave Jan. 5 on the side of the road near Nash Trail and Haverhill Road, west of Lantana. He was reported missing Aug. 28, 2008. He was tortured before he was killed.

By the time police found Gonzalez's body, it was unrecognizable. The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office used dental records to identify him, but it took months to link the records that matched.

Gonzalez moved to South Florida from New Jersey about a year before his death. He lived in Palm Springs and got a toothache shortly after he arrived.

"I still remember him holding his cheek and complaining," said his cousin, Carmen Cortes.

Gonzalez went to a clinic and had the tooth pulled, said Cortes, 44, of West Palm Beach, his only family in South Florida. Through that record, the medical examiner's investigators were able to make a positive match.

"It gives me lots of closure," Cortes said. "It's a sense of relief knowing it is him for once."

Gonzalez's remains were released Friday. He will be buried in a closed-casket ceremony Saturday near his family in Trenton, N.J., Cortes said.

No one in the family has seen his remains.

The positive identification of Gonzalez, who has a 17-year-old son, is bittersweet for his family, said his older sister, Inez Gonzalez.

"Now we've got to suffer one more time," she said. "We suffered when he was missing, we suffered when he was killed, and we were suffering waiting so long for the release [of his body], and now we've got to suffer one more time."

According to the Palm Beach County Violent Crimes Task Force:

Gonzalez was kidnapped by at least four men who accused him of stealing $15,000 from an acquaintance's home.

He was beaten with an electrical cord, had gasoline poured on him and then his killers tied a plastic bag around his head and shot him in the back of his head.

That happened at the home of one of the alleged killers, in the 4700 block of Bertha Street, west of Lake Worth. Gonzalez was buried in the backyard for two days before he was unearthed and buried again. An informant led investigators to his second grave near Nash Trail and Haverhill Road, and to the suspects.

Arrested and charged with first-degree murder were: Pedro Santiago-Vega, 40, of Lake Worth; Freddy Silvagnoli, 45, of Lake Worth; Jose Ramirez, 29, of Greenacres; and John Lee Morales-Gonzalez, 20, residence unknown.

All four are being held in the county jail without bail.
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