Yacht Chef Murdered in Puerto Rico

[Amgine]

This week saw the 5th homicide of the year in Vancouver, and the entire province is up in arms about the fourth where a young man was stabbed in front of a concert hall with potentially hundreds of witnesses and none had originally come forward to say they had seen anything. (Several have since come forward.) The city is shocked, and re-examining its lack of community spirit, that criminals might engage in such behaviour and get away with it.

And then I hear stories about places I've thought of sailing to, part of the USA, with homicide rates as high as 3 per day.

I want to sail in warm waters, but I don't want it so badly I'm willing to die there. I wonder if cruisers should be looking at crime statistics, political unrest, as closely as we do the weather reports.

[Southern Star]

Amgine, most already do. Many cruising guides (including Chris Doyle's) will give you general information about crime in most anchorages and will also give some updates on their web sites (as will Noonsite, etc.); word of mouth and the chatter on the cruisers net will also keep you reasonably abreast of the current situation. In short, yes it is now an essential part of your preparedness before making a passage to another destination.

Brad

Brad

[GordMay]

B.C.'s murder rate drops to 40-year low

“B.C.'s homicide rate fell to its lowest level in 40 years according to a report released by Statistics Canada this week (October 24, 2008 ).

There were 88 homicides, or 2.01 murders per 100,000 people, slightly higher than the national average of 1.80, but down significantly from the provincial rate of 2.50 the year before.

While the rate fell provincially, in Vancouver it remained much higher at 2.41 per 100,000 people, largely due to the number of gang-related slayings.

There were 55 homicides in Vancouver last year, 19 of which were gang-related. That's about one-third of the total, significantly higher than the national ratio of one in five homicides being gang related...”

B.C.'s murder rate drops to 40-year low

[keelbolts]

if you doused the perp in gas & set him on fire, people would fuss. Perhaps his mom was mean to him as a child. That would explain it.

[avazquez]

I was in Fajardo, Puerto Rico when this happened and indeed it is a horrible act, one of the worst. The criminal was caught by local and federal agents in less than two hours and he is in jail where he will probably be for the rest of his life.

I've lived in Puerto Rico for 39 years and yes there is a high crime rate but it is usually between drug gang members that kill each other fighting for the control of the drug trade. I have never been robbed or felt insecure in Puerto Rico in my 39 years living here. Of course as in any state or country I try to stay away from the dangerous areas. It is just a matter of common sense.

She happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and this "sick pervert from hell" was there too. Puerto Rico has many wonderful things to offer and one of them is the warmth of its people so please don't judge my country for the behaviour of one sick mind.

[michaelmrc]

it doesnt make much sense to me. arent cruisers spending money helping the economy with their presense i would think that the governments would try to encourage more tourism / cruisers and not discourage them by not dealing with pirates thieves and murderers in a swift and effective method. im not talking just this incident with is horrific but others i have been reading about lately.

[Kiteboarder]

Originally Posted by avazquez

I was in Fajardo, Puerto Rico when this happened and indeed it is a horrible act, one of the worst. The criminal was caught by local and federal agents in less than two hours and he is in jail where he will probably be for the rest of his life.

I've lived in Puerto Rico for 39 years and yes there is a high crime rate but it is usually between drug gang members that kill each other fighting for the control of the drug trade. I have never been robbed or felt insecure in Puerto Rico in my 39 years living here. Of course as in any state or country I try to stay away from the dangerous areas. It is just a matter of common sense.

She happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and this "sick pervert from hell" was there too. Puerto Rico has many wonderful things to offer and one of them is the warmth of its people so please don't judge my country for the behaviour of one sick mind.

Thanks for the comment.

I read the original post and then the article. I was appalled. I'm Puerto Rican. It hurts me deep every time I hear the words murder and Puerto Rico in the same sentence. It saddens me.

[Soft Air]

I cancelled a sail to Fajardo due to this incident