judicial

Ridgley wants to prove innocence

The American citizen is slated to go on trial for murder in March.

la prensa

Debra Ann Ridgley1165455

Debra Ann Ridgley has a deep, penetrating gaze.

Sitting in a corner of the site for recreational activities in the Women’s Rehabilitation Center, she gave a brief account of how she has lived for the past two years in a prison far from her home in the United States.

“It has not been easy,” she said.

Ridgley's life changed dramatically in 2007 when she was accused of murdering her compatriot Toni Grossi-Abrams.

The body of Grossi-Abrams, 58, was found in a vacant lot at Ninth Street in Rio Abajo in April of that year. Her body had been hacked apart, then stuffed in a suitcase, which was then set on fire.

Ridgley, who is originally from Pennsylvania, was detained on the orders of the Public Ministry as one of three suspects in the case.

She was initially held in a cell of the defunct Judicial Technical Police before being transferred to the Women’s Rehabilitation Center in May 2007. She remains the only person arrested in the case.

She said that she is confused about several aspects of the investigation, including why it has taken so long to be tried.

“It has been two years, and I am running out of patience,” Ridgely said.

Her case is scheduled to be tried on March 20. She is looking forward to the chance to prove her innocence.

Ridgley preferred not to go into details about what happened on the day of the murder, but she noted that she wasn’t in the apartment she shared with the victim when the crime occurred.

She has claimed that two Colombian acquaintances committed the murder, then forced her to help them get rid of the body.

Those Colombians, Didier Osorio and Cueno Castro, have remained at large and are believed to have fled the country. One of the men was briefly detained in Costa Rica, and then deported to Colombia, where he was allowed to go free.

Ridgely said that she is hoping that it will not be long until she is set free, so that she can see her two children and six grandchildren.

“I am waiting for my freedom,” she said.

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