[1] Investigations into the case caused confusion among the general public, because at first it had been claimed by Puerto Rican police that Cepeda had been raped and murdered, then it was alleged that she died accidentally.
[2] Liliana Barbara "Barbarita" Cepeda Casado[3] (1990–1997) was a young Puerto Rican girl of African descent.
Her body was found on June 9, in the basement of an abandoned building that hosted what was once an Olympic-sized swimming pool used for the 1979 Pan American Games water competitions.
[6] On November 16, 1998, Jose Luis Ortiz Vega, Barbarita's stepfather[7] and Eugenio J. Rodriguez Galindo were arrested and charged with the kidnapping and murder of Cepeda Casado.
During a preliminary court hearing on December 16 of that year, it was determined there was probable cause to accuse the two of first degree murder and of kidnapping, in addition to gun law violations.