The missing Honduran beauty queen and her sister were found dead on Wednesday, November 19, police said.
The sister’s boyfriend and another man have been arrested in connection with the murder.
The bodies of María José Alvarado Muñoz, the reigning Miss World Honduras, and her sister, Sofia Trinidad Alvarado, were found buried in a shallow grave in a mountainous area beside a river, Honduran authorities said.
The bodies of the sisters, who had been missing for several days, were found on top of each other, Santa Barbara Mayor, Juan Alvarado said.
Plutarco Antonio Ruiz Rodriguez and Aris Valentin Maldonado Mejia are now in police custody, and investigators believe more people are involved in the sisters’ deaths. Ruiz was Sofia’s boyfriend, police say and the sisters disappeared Thursday, November 13 night after going to a spa for a birthday party organised by Ruiz in Santa Barbara, northwest of the capital of Tegucigalpa, police said.
Ruiz is suspected of killing the two sisters, according to Leandro Osorio, chief of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation. He is also considered the person who was most in contact with the victims, Casco added.
Alvarado, 19, was supposed to leave for London to participate in the Miss World pageant, police said. Their family reported the women’s disappearance on Saturday, November 15. Teresa Muñoz, their mother initially believed her two daughters were kidnapped. Eduardo Zablah, director of the pageant in Honduras, said that Alvarado and her sister were last seen getting into a vehicle after attending a party last week.
Julia Morley, chairman of the Miss World pageant, said contestants will hold a special service Sunday to honor Alvarado and her sister and offer prayers for their families.
“We are devastated by this terrible loss of two young women, who were so full of life,” Morley said.
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