01x05 - Carla

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: 36-year-old Carla
stefaniak was a world traveller

jet setting across the globe,
seeking new adventures.

Her passion for life
brought her to Costa Rica

to celebrate her birthday.

The pictures she saw online

told the story of
a magical place

known for its lush rain
forests and Sandy beaches.

Touching both the warm Caribbean
sea and the mighty pacific ocean.

Perfect for weekend getaways,

romantic escapes and
building a lifetime of memories.

But when Carla clicked confirm to
purchase her rental accommodation,

she had no idea she had
also confirmed her fate

and met her m*rder*r online.

In November of 2018,

Carla and her best friend
and sister in law, April Burton,

booked a week long trip

to Costa Rica's
capital city, San Jose,

to celebrate her
upcoming 36th birthday.

Carla, an experienced
travel blogger,

documented the trip to her
many followers on Instagram.

Carla, by all accounts, was
having the time of her life.

She travelled all around the
city with her sister in law, April.

It was taking pictures
together at the hot Springs,

beaches, shops and restaurants.

She had picked a beautiful
place to ring in her 36th birthday.

On Tuesday, 27 November, 2018,

Carla said goodbye to
her travelling companion,

April Burton.

Carla had decided
to stay one more day

and see more of the city solo.

She dropped April off
at the San Jose airport,

returned her rental car

the two had been
using to travel around

and grabbed an
uber back into town.

Instead of heading
to her airbnb,

she decided to spend
the day shopping.

She used the same uber driver
that picked her up at the airport

as her tour guide
around the city.

Eldridge: Travelling by herself
would not have been a problem

for Carla.

She spoke fluent Spanish.

She would have had no
problem being on her own

and being in the country.

This wasn't a last minute
travel arrangement.

She had always planned
on staying one more day.

She had always planned
on staying one more day.

April and Carla said their
goodbyes at the airport

but April believed she
would see Carla the next day.

Not yet. Yeah...

But that drop off at the airport

was the last time the
two ever saw each other.

Carla had decided to
stay close to the airport

for her last night.

Her uber driver,

the same one who had
driven her around all day,

dropped her off at
her airbnb rental.

A seven unit building with gates

and 24 hour stationed
security guards.

This place got
rave reviews online.

It was a beautiful
place, almost five stars.

The pictures of this
beautiful mountain top villa

with stunning views and
water, nature preserve next to it.

Not a bad place to
spend the last night

of her 35th year.

It was 27 November.

Her 36th birthday
was on 28 November.

But Carla would
never get the chance

to celebrate with
her family and friends.

Throughout the night of
27 November and into 28,

Carla received videos and
texts from friends and family

Carla received videos and
texts from friends and family

wishing her a happy birthday.

Her friends started to worry when
those messages went unanswered.

Carla would never go a long time

without responding to
her family and friends.

Carla would call daily.

Normally a loved one
might not even worry

about not hearing from someone

but because Carla
always responded,

it drew red flags
almost immediately.

So can you just fly here?

Despite the negative
reviews on villa le mas,

Carla didn't indicate to her friends
there was any trouble checking in.

However, as the night
went on, the sky opened up.

A torrential downpour of rain
sent power circuits into overdrive.

The rental property lost power.

At 6:55pm, the night of
Carla's disappearance,

Carla said her rental
was super sketchy

once the power had gone out.

Now, Carla is starting
to get really nervous.

Despite being able
to speak the language

she was still in a different
country and setting, entirely.

She was talking to
her friends on whatsapp

for the majority of the trip

and that time over an hour

and at one point she
considered leaving the compound

to go to this jazz
club in the city,

ultimately decided against it

citing that she was
too tired to go out.

And I'm sure her
friends on whatsapp

were excited that she
wasn't going to go out alone

on her last night in Costa Rica.

Carla's phone was
dangerously low on battery

and with the power out
because of the storm,

there wasn't a way

for her to continue
on her group chat.

Carla told her
friends she was thirsty

but didn't have any water.

Her friends convinced her
to stay inside the compound

and to ask the 24
hour security guards

if they had any water.

Her friends told her,
"Carla, girl, don't go out."

It was a reasonable request.

It was raining, the
power was out in the area.

"Stay inside.

"Ask security for water."

That was one of the
selling points of this place.

It was guarded 24/7,

security guards,
police officers,

it had all been vetted,
they're great shape.

It had all been vetted,
they're great shape.

It was a trustworthy place.

But that communication
was the last time

anyone ever heard
from Carla again.

Yeah!

Carla had booked a flight to
leave Costa Rica at 1:30pm

on Wednesday, 28
November, her 36th birthday.

But she never got on the flight.

This isn't funny anymore, ok?

Right away, Carla's family
alerted the authorities,

both in the us and Costa Rica.

Because she had not been
missing for more than 48 hours,

they were told there
was nothing to be done.

Patricia: Carla's family was
worried about a possible kidnapping.

They did everything they could

to alert authorities
in both countries

but unfortunately, like
we have heard before,

it was too soon to do
anything about it yet.

Carla's dad was already down...

..In, they lived somewhere
else in the central of america.

So, he was already
outside the United States

but the two brothers,
Carlos and Mario

went down and somehow
were able to influence

went down and somehow
were able to influence

both United States
state department

and individuals
within the Costa Rican

law enforcement community

that you know, there
had to be officers

dedicated to trying to locate.

36-year-old Florida
resident, Carla stefaniak,

lived her life to the fullest
travelling all over the globe.

She was a citizen of the world.

Whether it was New
York City or Spain,

Cuba or Switzerland,

Carla shared her
travel adventures

with her thousands
of Instagram followers.

But on her last night
as a 35-year-old,

while vacationing in Costa Rica,

Carla stefaniak would
never be heard from again.

Around 9:00pm on
27 November, 2018,

Carla ended a group
chat citing low battery.

Little did her friends know
it would be the last time

they would talk to her again.

She was scheduled
to fly out of Costa Rica

at 1:30pm the following day,

her 36th birthday.

Carla had booked an uber driver,

the very same driver
who had driven her around

all afternoon on the night
of her disappearance,

all afternoon on the night
of her disappearance,

to pick her up at 8:30am

and take her to do some
last minute shopping

and then to the airport.

But she would
never make the flight.

But when Carla
doesn't arrive in Florida,

the family, including sister in law
and travel companion, April Burton

start to really get worried.

That's when concerned calls to
Costa Rican investigators started.

Eldridge: The family for Carla

called local authorities
in Costa Rica

but because Carla hadn't
been missing that long,

they didn't take it seriously.

They didn't search for her,

they didn't take a
look at her room,

they didn't take a
look around the airbnb,

24 hours into her disappearance,

then they started to
look around a little bit.

They pass out an image of her,

photographs,

they start asking citizens

had they heard anything from her

or knew about her whereabout.

On Friday, 30 November,

almost two days after
she had been heard from,

Carla's family and friends

created a 'finding
Carla' Facebook page.

And it was around this time

that authorities
started looking further

that authorities
started looking further

into the mysterious
disappearance

of Carla stefaniak.

A timeline of her
last known locations

started to form.

Carla's family was worried
about a possible kidnapping,

they did everything they could

to alert authorities
in both countries

but unfortunately, like
we have heard before,

it was too soon to do
anything about it yet.

They also considered that maybe

this was a human
trafficking situation.

And understandably,

they didn't wanna wait the 48
hours for an investigation to begin.

Carla's brother
booked a one way flight

and was in Costa
Rica within days.

Once authorities got involved,

they started to piece
together Carla's last day.

Finally, public records indicated
she had been travelling around

most of the afternoon in a uber.

She hired an uber
from the airport

after she dropped
off her sister in law.

She paid the driver in cash
to continue to drive her around

local shopping
centres then the airbnb.

Normal stuff.

Before she left the uber,

she asked the driver
to meet her again

the following morning. At 08:30.

Uber driver: Of course, I'd
love to. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Uber driver: Of course, I'd
love to. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

The investigation eventually
focused on the uber driver.

Could the driver be involved

or shed some light
into her whereabouts?

April Burton is
incredibly distraught.

The despair she must have felt

knowing that she was
one of the last people

to see Carla alive.

Police contact the uber driver,

who had chauffeured Carla
around to various shopping centres

the day she was last seen.

The driver confirmed

that there was a scheduled
pick up for 8:30am

but when he arrived,
Carla didn't show.

The driver told police he
assumed she found another way

to get to the airport and left.

Carla's brother was going to
find her no matter how long it took.

He too met with the
security guards at the airbnb

that Carla was staying
at to get more answers.

April wanted to be
there to help too.

She kept going over
and over any possible sign

that she might have missed

and figure out if
there were any clues

that she could help.

She is a really nice girl.
She is a really nice girl.

The uber driver was
cleared of any wrong doing.

He was not near the
airbnb at any other time

besides when he was there
to drop off and pick up Carla.

I asked the security...

Investigators turn to kidnapping

and human
trafficking as motives.

There was one problem though.

Carla's room had already been
booked by other foreign tourists.

In fact, a new guest was
checked into the room

the day after she was last seen.

The rental property had booked

someone to stay in the same
room that Carla had been in.

It was cleaned
thoroughly and re-rented.

Authorities had a
tough job ahead of them

because they had to distinguish

what evidence may
have belonged to Carla

and now these new tenants

and the possible suspect.

I mean, there was most likely
DNA belonging to multiple people.

Platforms like uber,
airbnb and the like

there's essentially a...

..Contravention or an invasion

of some of the
standards and guidelines

that are set forth by
government entities

as they relate to
hotels and resorts.

Meanwhile, the family
pushes her kidnapping

meanwhile, the family
pushes her kidnapping

on social media.

Now, both countries,

Costa Rica and the United States

are starting to become
interested in Carla's vanishing.

Eldridge: There just wasn't a
lot of evidence out there to go on.

There had been no signs
of a struggle in her room.

The security guards
all had one story,

nothing out of the ordinary.

All of her stuff was gone.

Carla just appeared
to vanish in air.

Carla had been talking with
her friends on a group chat.

The power had gone out
because of a powerful rain storm.

According to friends,
Carla had decided to stay in

for the rest of the night.

Her phone was almost dead
and she had no way to charge it.

She had told her friends
she was going to ask security

for some water.

She was never heard from again.

Now, as her family arrives
on the scene to seek answers,

investigators piece together
her last night using phone records

and first hand
reports from security.

Carla's family wanted answers.

They arrived in Costa Rica just
days after her disappearance.

They arrived in Costa Rica just
days after her disappearance.

And the security guards at the
scene put Carla getting into a car

at 05:00 in the morning

but that just didn't
make sense to anyone.

Why would she leave
at 5:00 in the morning

when she called
an uber at 08:30?

And her flight didn't leave
until 1:30 in the afternoon.

Carla's brother and father
couldn't find a trace of her.

Everything was
gone from her room.

Multiple guards reported

Carla had checked
out of the rental early.

At 5:00am in the morning.

But upon further questioning,

one of the guards said
he never saw her leave.

The guard on duty,

a Nicaraguan national named
Bismarck espinoza Martinez,

who was in the
country illegally,

told authorities Carla had
checked out of the rental

and had gotten into a
car early in the morning

but there was no
evidence to support it.

Mr Martinez was
one of the first people

to meet with Carla's family.

Carla's brother
remembered walking in

and shaking this man's hand.

And shaking this man's hand.

Now, the investigation
was centred directly on him.

A man who should not have
merely been given access

to an airbnb facility

and into individual
private rooms.

But this is a man who
was not even authorised.

He wasn't authorised
to be in Costa Rica.

Police find inconsistencies
in Martinez's story.

He was staying in the
unit right next to Carla

and working as a guard
there at the same time.

He had keys to every unit.

Bismarck told police he personally
helped Carla with her luggage

and put them in the taxi
cab at 5:00 in the morning

but it doesn't explain
why Carla's phone records

indicate she had called
an uber to pick her up.

Why would somebody
who used uber frequently

all of a sudden take a taxi
cab in a different country?

Fluids consistent with blood

is found in Carla's room
and on the property.

Her family fears the worst.

Local authorities start to
sweep the surrounding area

but the rental sits at the
edge of a nature preserve.

Cadaver dogs are brought
in to help narrow the search

cadaver dogs are brought
in to help narrow the search

for the young adventurer.

While the search
continued outside,

authorities bring Bismarck
Martinez in for questioning.

Carla's father joins her
brother in Costa Rica.

He continues to hold out
hope he will find Carla alive.

But shortly after
Carla's father arrives,

police get a break in the case.

Just not the one
Carla's family wanted.

News reporter: Tonight
we're seeing new images

from Costa Rica crime
scene investigators,

searching the room of a
missing Florida woman.

And tonight,
investigators tell us

they have found
Carla stefaniak' body.

A body is found by
the cadaver dogs.

About 1,000 feet from
the rental property.

It was badly decomposed.

And Carla's brother and father
were called in to identify the body.

Eldridge: The body was
so badly decomposed

that police needed dental
records and a positive ID

from a family member.

But the investigation can now
shift from kidnapping to m*rder.

And they have their
suspect already in custody.

And they have their
suspect already in custody.

The search took
less than a week.

On 3 December, 2018,

Carla's body was found
less than 1,000 feet

from her rental property.

Carla's family posts a sombre
update to their Facebook page

to let the world know
Carla had been found.

Carla's body had numerous
wounds both to the neck and head,

she had been stabbed
at least seven times,

including stab wounds
in the palm of her hand,

indicating that she
tried to fight back.

It was also determined

she had been crushingly
hit over the head

with a blunt instrument

which possibly served
as the fatal blow.

The Facebook page that
was run by Carla's family

turned into finding Carla

to #justiceforcarla.

They demanded answers

and there's been a
lot of inconsistencies

in the investigation.

Even though they have
a suspect in custody

it doesn't mean it's over.

And of course,

the American
government is now involved

since an American was
k*lled in another country.

But as prosecutors are
assigned to the case,

they are rapidly
dropping involvement.

They are rapidly
dropping involvement.

For some reason,
nobody wanted to be tied

to this m*rder trial.

Why is that?

Carla's family was devastated
by far more than the loss of Carla.

It was also the time they
waited to see her body.

And the feelings of injustice
leading up to the trial.

The emotions ran very
high for the stefaniaks.

Airbnb said in a
statement to wfts,

"our hearts are broken
for Carla's family,

"friends and loved ones.

"We reached out to
provide support for them

"during this unimaginably
difficult time."

(Speaking foreign language)

News reporter: Investigators
say the man they arrested

is a security guard at the airbnb
where Carla stefaniak was staying.

They also say he
lived next door to her.

Tonight we're getting
our first look at the man.

Tonight we're getting
our first look at the man.

His name is Bismarck
espinoza Martinez.

Investigators say his story

didn't match didn't match
video from the airbnb.

They also released these
pictures of the crime scene.

You can see them
working through evidence.

They say they found
blood in stefaniak's room.

The body authorities
believe to be stefaniak

had stab wounds
and a head injury.

They say it looked like
she tried to defend herself.

Bismarck espinoza Martinez

has been charged in the m*rder
of American, Carla stefaniak.

The evidence
against him is plentiful

but the family still believes
justice is not being served.

The suspect was originally
charged with second degree m*rder

which carries a maximum of 18
years if convicted in Costa Rica.

That hardly seems
fair in a case like this.

According to reports,

Bismarck confessed to his wife
that he in fact m*rder*d Carla.

The wife then called
Bismarck's mother distraught

over what she had just heard.

So, the person who rented
the room right after Carla

so, the person who rented
the room right after Carla

did recount that he saw Bismarck

completely drenched
and covered in mud

when he checked in.

He also mentioned that
his room smelled strongly

of vinegar and chlorine.

The trial lasts for weeks.

But there is no jury.

Carla's fate rests in the
hands of three judges

who will determine
guilt and jail sentence.

Carla's father testifies

as does a Mexican tourist
who stayed in the room

mere hours after
Carla's disappearance.

Prosecutors detail Carla's
last moments on earth.

They believe Bismarck
had entered Carla's room

with keys he had as a
member of the security team.

With murderous intent,

Bismarck brutally
attacked and k*lled Carla

but not before raping her.

According to investigators,

Bismarck then carried her body
into the woods, outside the compound,

hastily buried her and
then returned to work,

acting like nothing
had happened.

So, the defence lawyers

pretty much just countered all the evidence
pretty much just countered all the evidence

and called everybody
involved in the investigation

a liar.

It wasn't much of a defence

but there was really
no eyewitness account

or security footage of Bismarck
physically disposing of the body.

On 17 February, 2020,

nearly 15 months

after Carla stefaniak was
brutally r*ped and m*rder*d

while vacationing in
Costa Rica for her birthday,

Bismarck Martinez was
found guilty for her m*rder.

He was given 16 years in prison.

16 years was nowhere near
long enough for Carla's family.

Carla's family is
understandably horrified

that the man who took a
life could only get 16 years.

And he was in a
country illegally.

The family demanded justice

and they don't
feel like they got it.

But Carla's family
still wants answers.

They don't think
Bismarck acted alone.

At the very least,

they sue the owner
of the airbnb rental

and airbnb themselves.

As it turns out,

as it turns out,

the property should have
never been listed on airbnb

at the time of the rental.

Its licence had expired

and the owner never
renewed, it was ill*gal.

The family believe multiple
people were involved.

But the fact that Bismarck
was seen walking in the rain

in muddy clothes by himself,

is most likely why
Costa Rican authorities

only prosecuted him.

News reporter: Speaking exclusively
with Joseph Alfonso Rivera cheves,

the family's attorney
in Costa Rica,

he believes Martinez

couldn't have been
the only one involved.

Translation: "We're considering

"that there could be
at least five suspects

"that participated in the crime
to cover up this heinous m*rder.

"And for one person to
move her from the room

"where the crime
happened to the other place

"which is over 400 yards away

"is quite bit
complicated, right?

"Because the body shows
no signs of being dragged."

According to Carla's father,

Carla weighed nearly 200 pounds

and it would have
been almost impossible

and it would have
been almost impossible

for one person to k*ll her and
dispose of the body that night.

Her body showed no
signs of being dragged.

She would have been carried
through the mud and the rain

across a distance almost
four football fields long.

Eldridge: The judge ruled
that the rental property

is in part to blame for the
actions leading up to Carla's death.

They award the
family a dollar amount

equivalent to about $53,000.

$53,000 and 16 years in prison.

That was what Carl
stefaniak's life was worth

in the eyes of
Costa Rican judges.

Carla stefaniak met
her m*rder*r online.