penal system

Accused murderer escapes

Martín Wright Coto tried to escape once before and was recaptured. This time he succeeded.

cortesisa/ Sistema penitenciario

Wright Coto1026244

The accused murderer of Paitilla resident Ana Mercedes Medina escaped because of civilian negligence, said prison system director Luis Gordon.

Martín Wright Coto eluded his guards after going to go to a clinic to be treated for an allegedly upset stomach. He had been acting strangely for several weeks before that, Gordon said, explaining that on one occasion he had hidden for more than two hours and in another had been found in possession of marijuana.

Wright tried to escape from prison once before but was recaptured.

Gordon said the civilian supervisors who accompanied him to the clinic and who failed to keep close watch over such a high-profile figure will be punished.

Following an official autopsy stating that Mercedes had died of a heart attack, police closed her case. But her family insisted they reopen it because of suspicious circumstances: the door to her apartment was open; some objects were missing from her residence; and the light and air conditioning were left on when Ana Mercedes would have turned them off to save energy.

Police currently have no clues as the accused’s whereabouts.