Nine people associated with a drug trafficking organization have pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and murder of 37-year-old Rossana Delgado. The accused had reportedly tortured Delgado’s body and then burned it. She was found dead in a rental cabin in the Cherry Log community of Gilmer County on April 20, 2021.
The incident happened on April 16, 2021, when Rossana Delgado, a taxi driver, called her husband Yhony Castro and informed him that she would be home for dinner after collecting her last fare for the day. Unfortunately, Rossana Delgado never returned home, prompting her husband to report her missing. Her body was found four days later.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested several people in connection with this, including some who were in Mexico. According to the Gilmer County District Attorney, a total of 14 people were eventually indicted in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case.
Nine people are pleading in the Rossana Delgado murder case
District Attorney B. Alison Sosebee announced in her recent statement that the suspects arrested in connection with the murder of Rossana Delgado were part of a drug trafficking organization. Sosebee stated that the perpetrators tortured the victim at various locations in the days following her abduction.
Delgado was tortured and her body was burned (Image via Facebook)
A related press release from the DA Office states:
“At the Gilmer County, Georgia shack, members of the drug trafficking organization tortured Delgado before she died and then carried out the killing, dismembering, and burning her body.” “They then attempted to hide and destroy evidence related to Rossana.” Delgados Murder. In addition, employees of the drug trafficking organization facilitated the transport and escape of their colleagues to Mexico to avoid their capture.
One of the defendants, Oscar Manuel Garcia, pleaded guilty to the most serious charges, including first degree murder, kidnapping, covering up the death of another, removal of body parts from the scene, aggravated assault and violation of RICO. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Juan Ayala-Rodriguez also pleaded guilty to kidnapping, concealing the death of another, aggravated assault, and violating RICO, all of which received a life sentence.
Juan Antonio Vega, on the other hand, pleaded guilty to kidnapping, covering up the death of another, aggravated assault, and violating RICO, which resulted in a 30-year sentence.
Megan Alyssa Colone and Eva Galicia Martinez both pleaded guilty to RICO violations. Colone was sentenced to 18 years in prison while Martinez was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
The remaining four defendants: Terri Amanda Garner, Patrick Harvard, Calvin Harvard and Shawn Callaway also pleaded guilty to RICO violations. Their prison sentences have not been disclosed, but they are subject to suspended sentences.
After the verdict was announced, District Attorney Sosebee hoped that the verdict would bring some comfort to Rossana Delgado’s grieving family and loved ones.
Police are looking for three other people linked to the crime
Three other suspects in connection with the Rossana Delgado murder case remain at large as law enforcement officials continue to try to apprehend them. The investigation is ongoing and authorities are actively searching for the remaining people involved in the crime.
Mario Albert Barbosa-Juarez is charged with first degree murder, aggravated murder, kidnapping, covering up the death of another, removing body parts from a crime scene, aggravated assault and violating RICO.
The other two, Carolina Jazmin Rodriguez Ramirez and Maria Katherine Encarnacion, face charges of aggravated murder, kidnapping and violating RICO.
