Eric Volz
Encyclopedia
Eric Volz is an American
man who was sentenced to a 30-year prison
term in Nicaragua
following his conviction for the November 2006 rape and murder of ex-girlfriend Doris Ivania Jiménez in San Juan del Sur
.
An appeals court overturned the conviction on December 17, 2007, and Volz was released from prison on December 21, 2007. He left Nicaragua immediately and went into hiding in an unknown location outside Nicaragua over concerns for his physical safety.
Friends and supporters in both countries had insisted on Volz's innocence, claiming that the trial court ignored evidence, and that Volz was the victim of anti-gringo
sentiment. Opponents in Nicaragua protested against his release due to what they perceived as special consideration as an American, pressure from the United States government, and accusations that Volz's family bribed the appellate court
judges.
and is a former resident of Nashville
, Tennessee
. He received a degree in Latin American Studies
from University of California, San Diego
. Volz later moved to Managua
, Nicaragua
, where he sold real estate and launched El Puente ("The Bridge") magazine, advocating for smart growth
and ecotourism
.
, a Nicaraguan coastal town near Rivas
. Volz was arrested and charged with her murder. However, according to both associates and mobile phone
records, Volz was at his home in Managua
, which also served as the magazine headquarters, conducting meetings and business, including a conference call
with contacts in Atlanta, Georgia
, in the United States, and telephone and internet logs confirm this. Managua is a two-hour drive from San Juan del Sur.
Volz was arrested November 23, 2006, and charged with murder, based on the claims of a Nicaraguan man who was originally charged with the murder and later released. According to Volz's attorneys, Nicaraguan prosecutors did not produce any physical evidence before or at trial.
Although ten witnesses supported Volz's alibi, the trial court judge, Ivette Toruño Blanco, only permitted the testimony of three. On February 14, 2007, a police officer testified that Julio Martín Chamorro López, who the day of the crime was seen acting suspiciously, contacted "Rosita" [no ... "Rosita" was the nickname of Julio Chamorro, this is not a different person], an employee of Doris Ivania's boutique, and offered her US$5,000 to allow the murderer into the boutique. Chamorro claimed that Volz and another foreigner, whom he did not identify, participated in the murder. In her testimony, Mercedes Alvarado, mother of the victim, described Volz as a jealous man whom her daughter believed would kill her because of his jealousy. At the conclusion of the three-day trial, Judge Toruño Blanco convicted Volz and sentenced him to 30 years in prison.
On December 17, 2007, Volz was ordered released after an appeals court overturned the conviction. His passport and bail of $10,000 were to be returned: Volz, however, was not immediately freed because a judge failed to show up for an afternoon meeting to arrange his release. Local judge Ivette Toruño Blanco delayed signing the order releasing him. On December 20, 2007, an appeals court in Granada
signed release papers for Volz. The release came despite a prosecutor's decision to appeal the case to the Supreme Court and despite their assertions that their appeal would stay Volz's release. Prosecutor Isolda Ibarra, who conducted the prosecution of Volz at trial, had stated earlier, "we presented the appeal, and the law is clear: that the release is suspended until the high court rules on the case." Magistrate judges in the appeals court in Nicaragua have up to 10 days to review the request for appeal. The Sandinista National Liberation Front
governments chief prosecutor, Julio Centeno, referred to Volz's liberation as a "barbarity", a view echoed by Red guerilla Omar Cabezas
.
Volz's mother appeared on NBC's Today on December 21, 2007, petitioning the Nicaraguan government to release her son. She received support from the White House with a speech from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
. The same day, the appeals court signed release papers for Volz, who left Nicaragua on Friday afternoon, said Eddie Vasquez, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department.
and he claimed political motivation, specifically anti-American sentiment
, for this action.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
man who was sentenced to a 30-year prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
term in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
following his conviction for the November 2006 rape and murder of ex-girlfriend Doris Ivania Jiménez in San Juan del Sur
San Juan del Sur
San Juan del Sur is a municipality and coastal town on the Pacific Ocean, in the Rivas department in south-west Nicaragua. San Juan del Sur is popular among surfers and is a vacation spot for many Nicaraguan families and foreign tourists....
.
An appeals court overturned the conviction on December 17, 2007, and Volz was released from prison on December 21, 2007. He left Nicaragua immediately and went into hiding in an unknown location outside Nicaragua over concerns for his physical safety.
Friends and supporters in both countries had insisted on Volz's innocence, claiming that the trial court ignored evidence, and that Volz was the victim of anti-gringo
Gringo
Gringo is a slang Spanish and Portuguese word used in Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries in Latin America, to denote foreigners, often from the United States. The term can be applied to someone who is actually a foreigner, or it can denote a strong association or assimilation into...
sentiment. Opponents in Nicaragua protested against his release due to what they perceived as special consideration as an American, pressure from the United States government, and accusations that Volz's family bribed the appellate court
Appellate court
An appellate court, commonly called an appeals court or court of appeals or appeal court , is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal...
judges.
Early life
Volz was born in Northern CaliforniaNorthern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
and is a former resident of Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. He received a degree in Latin American Studies
Latin American Studies
Latin American studies is an academic discipline dealing with the study of Latin America and Latin Americans.-Definition:Latin American studies critically examines the history, culture, politics, and experiences of Latin Americans in Latin America and often also elsewhere .Latin American studies...
from University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
. Volz later moved to Managua
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, where he sold real estate and launched El Puente ("The Bridge") magazine, advocating for smart growth
Smart growth
Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl and advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood schools, complete streets, and mixed-use development with a...
and ecotourism
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...
.
Arrest for murder
On November 21, 2006, Doris Ivania Jiménez, a Nicaraguan who had dated Volz, was murdered at midday in her store in San Juan del SurSan Juan del Sur
San Juan del Sur is a municipality and coastal town on the Pacific Ocean, in the Rivas department in south-west Nicaragua. San Juan del Sur is popular among surfers and is a vacation spot for many Nicaraguan families and foreign tourists....
, a Nicaraguan coastal town near Rivas
Rivas
Rivas is a city and municipality in southwestern Nicaragua on the Isthmus of the same name. The city proper is the capital of the Department of Rivas and administrative centre for the surrounding municipality of the same name.-Overview:...
. Volz was arrested and charged with her murder. However, according to both associates and mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
records, Volz was at his home in Managua
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
, which also served as the magazine headquarters, conducting meetings and business, including a conference call
Conference call
A conference call is a telephone call in which the calling party wishes to have more than one called party listen in to the audio portion of the call. The conference calls may be designed to allow the called party to participate during the call, or the call may be set up so that the called party...
with contacts in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, in the United States, and telephone and internet logs confirm this. Managua is a two-hour drive from San Juan del Sur.
Volz was arrested November 23, 2006, and charged with murder, based on the claims of a Nicaraguan man who was originally charged with the murder and later released. According to Volz's attorneys, Nicaraguan prosecutors did not produce any physical evidence before or at trial.
Although ten witnesses supported Volz's alibi, the trial court judge, Ivette Toruño Blanco, only permitted the testimony of three. On February 14, 2007, a police officer testified that Julio Martín Chamorro López, who the day of the crime was seen acting suspiciously, contacted "Rosita" [no ... "Rosita" was the nickname of Julio Chamorro, this is not a different person], an employee of Doris Ivania's boutique, and offered her US$5,000 to allow the murderer into the boutique. Chamorro claimed that Volz and another foreigner, whom he did not identify, participated in the murder. In her testimony, Mercedes Alvarado, mother of the victim, described Volz as a jealous man whom her daughter believed would kill her because of his jealousy. At the conclusion of the three-day trial, Judge Toruño Blanco convicted Volz and sentenced him to 30 years in prison.
On December 17, 2007, Volz was ordered released after an appeals court overturned the conviction. His passport and bail of $10,000 were to be returned: Volz, however, was not immediately freed because a judge failed to show up for an afternoon meeting to arrange his release. Local judge Ivette Toruño Blanco delayed signing the order releasing him. On December 20, 2007, an appeals court in Granada
Granada, Nicaragua
Granada is a city in western Nicaragua and the capital of the Granada Department. With an estimated population of 110,326 , it is Nicaragua's fourth most populous city. Granada is historically one of Nicaragua's most important cities, economically and politically...
signed release papers for Volz. The release came despite a prosecutor's decision to appeal the case to the Supreme Court and despite their assertions that their appeal would stay Volz's release. Prosecutor Isolda Ibarra, who conducted the prosecution of Volz at trial, had stated earlier, "we presented the appeal, and the law is clear: that the release is suspended until the high court rules on the case." Magistrate judges in the appeals court in Nicaragua have up to 10 days to review the request for appeal. The Sandinista National Liberation Front
Sandinista National Liberation Front
The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish...
governments chief prosecutor, Julio Centeno, referred to Volz's liberation as a "barbarity", a view echoed by Red guerilla Omar Cabezas
Omar Cabezas
Omar Cabezas Lacayo is a Nicaraguan author, revolutionary and politician. He was a commander in the guerrilla war against Somoza, and prominent Sandinista party member...
.
Volz's mother appeared on NBC's Today on December 21, 2007, petitioning the Nicaraguan government to release her son. She received support from the White House with a speech from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
. The same day, the appeals court signed release papers for Volz, who left Nicaragua on Friday afternoon, said Eddie Vasquez, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department.
Case reopened
On November 17, 2008, Volz announced via a YouTube video that the Nicaraguan government had reopened its case against him after 11 months. Volz argued that retrying an acquitted person violates Nicaragua's constitutionConstitution of Nicaragua
The Constitution of Nicaragua was reformed due to a negotiation of the executive and legislative branches in 1995. The reform of the 1987 Sandinista Constitution gave extensive new powers and independence to the National Assembly, including permitting the Assembly to override a presidential veto...
and he claimed political motivation, specifically anti-American sentiment
Anti-Americanism
The term Anti-Americanism, or Anti-American Sentiment, refers to broad opposition or hostility to the people, policies, culture or government of the United States...
, for this action.
Memoir
In May 2010, Volz released a memoir through St. Martin’s Press titled Gringo Nightmare.Further reading
External links
- Friends of Eric Volz
- El Puente magazine
- Outside magazine feature story – June 2007
- News and Observer – May 10, 2007
- Washington Post – May 7, 2007
- NPR: Family – April 29, 2007
- Dateline NBC report on the case
- Gringo Nightmare: A Young American Framed for Murder in Nicaragua
- Macmillan Speakers Bureau profile