« Return to Home

Costa Rica slaying

	Remembering Shannon A 6News report Photos from Golfito.   KU student slain in Costa Rica, 5-16-01

Mom struggles to pay informants
Sunday, September 12, 2004
Jeanette Stauffer made a $50,000 promise she can't keep. "I really thought I could raise the money," she said. "But I was wrong. I was desperate."

English language center opens with name of slain KU student
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
A Kansas University student's compassion for a Costa Rican community where she was murdered nearly three years ago lives on in a newly opened English language center that bears her name.

Slain student's mother urges aid for victims
Tuesday, February 3, 2004
The mother of a Kansas University student who was murdered in Costa Rica urged senators Monday to endorse a bill making victims of crimes overseas eligible for compensation from the state. Jeanette Stauffer, of Topeka, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that passage of the measure would show victims and their families that the state cares about them. Her 23-year-old daughter, Shannon Martin, was stabbed to death in May 2001 in Golfito, Costa Rica, while doing research for a thesis.

Justice in Costa Rica killing cost victim's family $100K
Wednesday, December 3, 2003
The mother of a Kansas University student murdered in Costa Rica says the campaign to find and prosecute her daughter's killers has left her more than $100,000 in debt. "I'm not worried about it, yet. We still have options," said Jeanette Stauffer, referring to herself and her husband, Brad Stauffer.

6News video: Search for justice costs family
Wednesday, December 3, 2003
Jeanette Stauffer's 2 1/2-year crusade to find justice for her murdered daughter, KU student Shannon Martin, came with mental, physical and financial costs.

Verdicts bring measure of relief
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
No verdict or sentencing would be harsh enough for the people who killed Kansas University student Shannon Martin, her mother said Tuesday in Costa Rica. But Jeanette Stauffer, of Topeka, also said she was willing to accept the three-judge panel's verdict, which came Monday after a trial that stretched more than two weeks.

6News video: Verdicts evoke mixed emotions
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
Too many questions remain for the friends of slain KU student Shannon Martin to be wholly satisfied with the guilty verdicts in the case.

2 convicted in slaying
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Two of the three Costa Ricans who stood trial for the 2001 stabbing death of Kansas University student Shannon Martin were found guilty Monday of "simple homicide" and sentenced to 15 years in prison. A third person was found not guilty.

6News video: Guilty verdicts handed down in Martin case
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Kattia Cruz, 29, and Luis Alberto Castro Carrillo, 33, were found guilty Monday in the trial for the 2001 death of Kansas University student Shannon Martin.

Court finds two guilty in killing of Kansas student
Monday, November 24, 2003
(Updated Monday at 9:01 p.m.) GOLFITO, Costa Rica -- Judges convicted two people of simple homicide and found a third person innocent on Monday in the killing of a Kansas University student.

Defendant jailed in Martin case
Saturday, November 22, 2003

6News video: Death threats do not deter Shannon Martin trial
Thursday, November 20, 2003
Security has been heightened for the final court sessions in Costa Rica.

Court views Martin autopsy
Thursday, November 20, 2003
Lawyers made final arguments Wednesday in the trial of three Costa Ricans accused of killing Kansas University student Shannon Martin. A three-judge panel hearing the case refused to allow testimony by a final, unidentified prosecution witness because that testimony was based on hearsay. But they permitted a video of Martin's autopsy to be shown in court.

Stabbing victim's mother threatened
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
The mother of a slain Kansas University student who traveled to Costa Rica for the trial of the three people accused of killing her daughter has received death threats, police said Tuesday night.

Witnesses receive death threats
Saturday, November 15, 2003
Testimony against three people accused of killing Kansas University student Shannon Martin was conducted in private, closed-chamber proceedings Friday morning after two anonymous telephone death threats to the prosecutors' office warned the witness would be killed if she took the stand.

Witness: Slaying suspect confessed
Friday, November 14, 2003
A woman who called herself a friend of defendant Kattia Cruz testified Thursday that Cruz confessed to a role in the May 2001 slaying of Kansas University student Shannon Martin. The witness claimed she had spoken to Cruz, 29, a week after the crime at a bus station in the capital city of San José. The witness said Cruz confessed involvement in the crime and told her that she had been threatened by her two co-defendants, Luis Alberto Castro Carrillo, 33, and Rafael Zumbado Quesada, 52.

6News video: Witnesses say that suspects confessed to Martin's murder
Friday, November 14, 2003
Witnesses provided their testimony linking the suspects to the KU student's murder.

Testimony details fierce attack
Thursday, November 13, 2003
After almost two weeks of delays, the trial for suspects accused of killing Kansas University student Shannon Martin resumed Wednesday in this impoverished Pacific port town. Testimony from a forensic expert outlined a fierce struggle between Martin and her attackers. And in an unorthodox move, the judges moved their proceedings from the courtroom to the street where Martin was slain.

6News video: The trial in Shannon Martin's killing will begin soon
Thursday, November 13, 2003
The trial was delayed because of legal technicalities.

Trial date set in Costa Rica killing
Friday, September 26, 2003
A Costa Rican court has set a tentative trial date for suspects accused of killing a Kansas University student in 2001, but an attorney for the victim's family says he'll seek a delay.

6News video: Another investigation into Shannon Martin's death provides new leads
Saturday, July 19, 2003
New witness testimony may carry greater peanlty for three suspects in the case.

Leads raise hope in slaying probe
Saturday, July 19, 2003
For the first time in the two years since her daughter was stabbed to death in Costa Rica, Jeanette Stauffer says she has reason to believe the killers will be brought to justice. "This is the first time I've gotten up in the morning and not asked myself, ‘OK, who do I have to call or e-mail today to make sure the investigation is moving forward?'" Stauffer said Friday during a telephone interview from her home in Topeka.

KBI agent to assist in Martin case
Saturday, June 21, 2003
One of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation's top agents has joined the probe into the brutal stabbing death of Shannon Martin, a Kansas University honors student killed more than two years ago in Golfito, Costa Rica. KBI homicide investigator Larry Thomas leaves Sunday for Costa Rica, where he'll consult with Juan Carlos Arce, a lawyer representing the interests of Martin's family.

6News video: New developments in the Shannon Martin murder case
Saturday, June 21, 2003
One of the KBI's top investigators will go to Costa Rica to consult on the two-year-old case.

KU awards first Shannon Martin scholarship
Friday, May 16, 2003
(Updated Friday at 11:02 a.m.) A senior from Roeland Park will receive the first Shannon Martin scholarship from Kansas University.

6News video: Costa Rican judge expected to make decision by end of week
Wednesday, April 30, 2003
6News reports on the Shannon Martin murder case in Costa Rica.

Martin murder case steps forward
Wednesday, April 30, 2003
Before the week's end, a Costa Rican judge is expected to decide whether three suspects will stand trial for the May 13, 2001, slaying of Kansas University student Shannon Martin.

Slaying suspect to alter defense
Sunday, April 27, 2003
The defense attorney for the primary suspect in the 2001 slaying of Kansas University student Shannon Martin has admitted various "inconsistencies" and inaccuracies in the sworn testimony of his client.

3 charged in KU student's death
Friday, March 21, 2003
Costa Rican prosecutors have charged two men and a woman with killing Shannon Martin, a 23-year-old Kansas University student whose body was found about 30 yards from the home of her host family in the Pacific coast town of Golfito.

Information offered to police after mother's plea in Costa Rica
Saturday, March 15, 2003
Jeanette Stauffer's Costa Rican media blitz showed signs of bearing fruit Friday, when investigators reportedly received an early-morning phone call from an unidentified source providing information that could help indict suspects in Shannon Martin's slaying before a Thursday deadline.

Mother's plea for help broadcast in Costa Rica
Friday, March 14, 2003
In a desperate attempt to bring her daughter Shannon Martin's killers to justice before a March 20 indictment deadline, Jeanette Stauffer jumped on a last-minute flight to Costa Rica and went on national television to offer an impassioned plea to the only known witness to come forward with his testimony.
Speaking with a voiced-over translation on the 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday newscasts, Stauffer, of Topeka, urged a taxi driver who was reportedly at the scene of the crime to cooperate with investigators, reminding him there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to a conviction. She thanked Costa Rican authorities for their hard work on the 22-month-old homicide probe, but she said she was nervous that without the key witness's testimony, the case could fall apart next week.

KU officials updated on Martin slaying investigation
Monday, March 10, 2003
(Web Posted Monday at 2:19 p.m.) Kansas University officials returning from Costa Rica say they expect new developments by next week in the murder case of Shannon Martin, the KU student who was killed in the Central American country in May 2001.

Costa Rica president 'committed' to solving death of slain KU student
Tuesday, March 4, 2003
(Updated Tuesday at 12:38 p.m.) Costa Rica's president says he is committed to solving "the cruel murder of Shannon Martin, which has caused so much pain. ..."

3 suspects to be tried in slaying of student
Friday, February 7, 2003
A trial will begin within six weeks for a woman and two men accused in the stabbing death of Kansas University student Shannon Martin. Costa Rican prosecutor Erick Martinez announced the trial time frame nearly two years after the young Kansan was killed outside a Golfito, Costa Rica, nightclub and one week after Kansas University Chancellor Robert Hemenway wrote that country's president urging authorities to seek justice in the case.

Hemenway asks Costa Rican authorities for update on student slaying probe
Tuesday, February 4, 2003
Kansas University Chancellor Robert Hemenway has asked Costa Rican officials for an update on the investigation into the 2001 slaying of KU student Shannon Martin.

Slain student's mother angry at official inaction
Tuesday, December 17, 2002
The mother of a Kansas University student slain in Costa Rica lashed out at federal officials Monday, accusing both the FBI and Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., of misleading her.

Mother distraught as suspect set free
Monday, December 2, 2002
The mother of a Kansas University student killed in Costa Rica last year had her worst fears realized Sunday upon learning that the man she believed had repeatedly stabbed her daughter had been released from custody.

Slain KU student's mother plans to build education center as memorial
Tuesday, November 5, 2002
The mother of a Kansas University student who was slain while doing research in Costa Rica hopes to raise enough money to create an educational center in the Central American country.

Slain student's mom: Changes needed, not end of program
Tuesday, July 23, 2002
By Terry Rombeck

More than a year after a Kansas University student was stabbed to death in Golfito, Costa Rica, KU has decided to close its study abroad program there.
The announcement Monday, almost exactly a year after KU proclaimed the rural, 14,000-resident town safe for its students, said rising tensions since the slaying of Shannon Martin and costs associated with continuing the program contributed to the decision.

6News video clips: KU eliminates the Costa Rica Study Abroad program
Tuesday, July 23, 2002
Safety concerns linger after Shannon Martin's death.

KU to end study-abroad program in Golfito, Costa Rica
Monday, July 22, 2002
(Updated Monday at 11:56 a.m.) Kansas University will close its undergraduate study-abroad program in Golfito, Costa Rica, effective the fall semester, officials said Monday.

Two arrested in student's slaying
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
By Mindie Paget

News of two more arrests in the case of slain Kansas University student Shannon Martin left her mother at once relieved and disgusted. "It just horrifies me to think that three people carried my girl off, screaming, to kill her," Jeanette Stauffer of Topeka said Tuesday.

6News video report: Shannon Martin murder case gets break
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
6news reports the latest about the Costa Rica slaying: two arrests.

Two men arrested in Shannon Martin slaying
Tuesday, July 16, 2002
(Updated Tuesday at 7:07 a.m.) SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Police arrested two men suspected of participating in the killing of Kansas University student Shannon Martin last year, prosecutors said Tuesday.

KU honors slain student with study abroad scholarship
Monday, May 13, 2002
By Dave Ranney

A year ago today, Shannon Martin, a 23-year-old honors student at Kansas University, was found stabbed to death in Golfito, Costa Rica, where she had gone to collect plant specimens for a research project.
• Online extra: More photos from Golfito

6News video report: As one year anniversary draws closer, case still unsolved
Saturday, May 11, 2002
6News reports on the ongoing investigation in the murder of Shannon Martin.

Slain student's life celebrated
Friday, May 10, 2002
By Dave Ranney

About 40 people gathered outside Ecumenical Christian Ministries, 1204 Oread Ave., on Thursday for a memorial service commemorating Shannon Martin, a Kansas University student who was stabbed to death nearly a year ago in Costa Rica, eight days before she was to graduate.

6News video report: Shannon Martin is remembered on KU's campus
Friday, May 10, 2002
It has been a year since Martin's death, and Karen Bledsoe was in Costa Rica with Shannon's mother while she tried to find answers about the murder.

Lawyer visits with Costa Rican suspect; parent returns
Saturday, May 4, 2002
By Karen Palermo Bledsoe

When Pedro Irigonegaray went Friday to talk with Katia Vanessa Cruz, he was going to ask her about the earrings. Cruz, jailed since November in connection with the slaying of Shannon Martin, may know something about how a pair of gold, pear-shaped earrings that belonged to Martin wound up at a Golfito pawn shop the day after the Kansas University student was killed there.

6News video report: Stauffer's visit winding down
Saturday, May 4, 2002
6News reports on Jeanette Stauffer's visit to Costa Rica.

6News video reports: Janet Stauffer meets with officials in Costa Rica
Friday, May 3, 2002
The mother of slain KU student Shannon Martin will try to find ways to help keep foreign visitors safe.

6News video reports: Costa Rican officials may be coming closer to finding suspect
Friday, May 3, 2002
Karen Bledsoe reports on the efforts to find the killer of Shannon Martin.

Parent puts safety questions to director of study abroad
Thursday, May 2, 2002
By Karen Palermo Bledsoe

GOLFITO, Costa Rica — The mother of slain Kansas University student Shannon Martin made the office of Oscar Quiros her first stop when she arrived here this week.
Quiros is the director of KU's study abroad program in Golfito. Martin's mother had some hard questions for him.

Costa Rica: Witnesses recall night of Martin's death
Wednesday, May 1, 2002
By Karen Palermo Bledsoe

When Jeanette Stauffer walked the road where her daughter was slain, it was much different from the scene where Shannon Martin died. In August, new lights were placed along the service road Martin walked the May 2001 night the Kansas University senior was killed on the way to her host family's house.

6News video report: Mother of slain student can finally relax
Wednesday, May 1, 2002
6News reports on Jeanette Stauffer's visit to Costa Rica and the ongoing investigation into the murder of her daughter, Shannon Martin.

Slain daughter provides 'strength' for journey
Sunday, April 28, 2002
By Karen Palermo Bledsoe

Jeanette Stauffer today will face the hardest part of her quest for justice in the slaying of her daughter.With her husband, Brad Stauffer, and lawyer Pedro Irigonegaray, Stauffer is in Golfito, a rural port town on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.

6News video report: Shannon Martin's mother heads back to Costa Rica
Saturday, April 27, 2002
6News reports on Janette Staufer's second visit to Costa Rica.

Answers, justice on mother's itinerary
Friday, April 26, 2002
By Karen Palermo Bledsoe

Jeanette Stauffer is going to Costa Rica in search of justice.
Almost a year after her daughter was slain there, Stauffer is returning today to Costa Rica, carrying her message that more must be done to bring Shannon Martin's killer to justice.

Reward money increases in Martin investigation
Tuesday, April 9, 2002
The reward has grown to nearly $50,000 for information leading to a conviction in the stabbing death of a Kansas University student killed while studying in Costa Rica. Shannon Martin, 23, was killed last May while finishing a research project on the Central American country's ferns.

AG's proposal would expand victims' compensation
Wednesday, January 30, 2002
By Mike Belt

Since May, Jeanette Stauffer has incurred more than $16,000 in expenses monitoring the investigation and related matters concerning her daughter's slaying in Costa Rica. Tuesday, a bill was introduced in the Kansas Legislature on behalf of Atty. Gen. Carla Stovall that would allow Kansas victims of violent crime occurring outside the United States and their families to be eligible for financial compensation.

Suspect charged in student's killing
Saturday, January 5, 2002
By Matt Merkel-Hess

A Costa Rican woman detained as a suspect in last year's slaying of Kansas University student Shannon Martin has been charged with the homicide, an FBI agent told Martin's mother Friday morning.

Mother continues inquiries in daughter's stabbing death
Friday, January 4, 2002
(Updated Friday at 2:11 p.m.) By Karen Bledsoe, 6News

Jeanette Stauffer, the mother of Kansas University student Shannon Martin, is continuing to press the FBI and Costa Rican authorities for answers in her daughter's stabbing death on May 13 in Golfito, Costa Rica.

Additional suspects sought in homicide
Saturday, November 24, 2001
By Tim Rogers
Special to the Journal-World

Costa Rican authorities say the suspect arrested this week in connection with the May stabbing death of Kansas University student Shannon Martin probably did not act alone.

Costa Rican authorities arrest suspect in Martin murder
Wednesday, November 21, 2001
(Updated Thursday at 8:07 a.m.) More than six months after the murder of Kansas University student Shannon Martin, Costa Rican authorities have a person in custody.

Tree dedicated to honor slain KU student
Friday, November 2, 2001
By Terry Rombeck

A tree, Brad Stauffer said, was the perfect memorial for his slain stepdaughter, Shannon Martin.
"Shannon was probably the biggest tree-hugger I've ever met in my life," he said.

Mother looks for answers at slaying site
Saturday, September 1, 2001
By Dave Ranney

The mother of slain Kansas University student Shannon Martin said autopsy reports show her daughter did not die quickly. "They think she knew she was being killed for about 10 minutes," said Jeanette Stauffer, who returned Thursday from a six-day trip to Costa Rica. "That's the saddest part."

FBI backs up Costa Rica probe
Wednesday, August 29, 2001
By Dave Ranney

The FBI has found no fault with Costa Rican officials' handling of the investigation of Shannon Martin's slaying, U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback said Tuesday "The FBI is saying they've done everything right," the Kansas Republican said, minutes before addressing a breakfast meeting of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce at Hallmark Cards inc., 101 McDonald Drive.

Professor returns with data to finish slain student's study
Monday, August 6, 2001
By Matt Merkel-Hess

Two findings from Craig Martin's trip last week to Costa Rica made a lasting impression on him.
One involved the scene where, 12 weeks ago, one of the Kansas University biology professor's top students was brutally stabbed to death. The other involved research the student was completing when she was killed.

Costa Rica trips to continue
Saturday, July 28, 2001
By Matt Merkel-Hess

Kansas University will continue its study abroad programs in Costa Rica this fall despite the stabbing death of a student conducting research there, officials said Friday. The announcement came after university officials conducted two site visits and interviewed students, staff, host families and government officials, said Diana Carlin, dean of graduate schools and international programs.

KU professor to complete slain student's research
Friday, July 20, 2001
By Terry Rombeck

Some of Craig Martin's students never finish their research projects. And their excuses are thin.

Presidential meeting comforts mother of slain KU student
Saturday, July 14, 2001
By Matt Merkel-Hess

Two parents met Friday in Washington, D.C. — one to explain what her daughter meant to her family and friends, the other to offer his sympathy and, possibly, hope. Costa Rican President Miguel Angel Rodriguez Echeverria spoke with Jeanette Stauffer of Topeka about the brutal slaying of her daughter, Shannon Martin, in the Costa Rican port town of Golfito.

Costa Rican president will speak to mother
Friday, July 13, 2001
By Matt Merkel-Hess

The mother of a slain Kansas University student will meet with the president of Costa Rica this morning in Washington, D.C.
Jeanette Stauffer, Topeka, will meet with Miguel Angel Rodriguez to discuss the murder investigation of her daughter, Shannon Martin. Martin, 23, was killed in May while doing research in Golfito, Costa Rica.

Evidence doesn't match suspects in stabbing
Saturday, July 7, 2001
By Terry Rombeck and Matt Merkel-Hess

Hair samples taken from five suspects in the Shannon Martin murder investigation did not match hair found clutched in Martin's hand, her mother told the Journal-World Friday. The samples were examined this week at the FBI crime lab in Washington, D.C., to determine if there was a possible match before a more complicated DNA test was performed, said Jeanette Stauffer of Topeka.

DNA evidence from Costa Rica now in U.S. for FBI analysis
Tuesday, July 3, 2001
By Mike Shields

DNA evidence from the Shannon Martin murder case is now in the United States for analysis at the FBI crime lab in Washington, D.C., a spokeswoman for the Costa Rican ambassador to the United States told the Journal-World Monday.
Martin, 23, a Kansas University senior, was slain May 13 in Golfito, Costa Rica, a few days before she would have graduated. She was in Costa Rica completing biological research.

DNA evidence in Shannon Martin case arrives in U.S.
Monday, July 2, 2001
(Updated Monday at 2:11 p.m.) A spokeswoman for the Costa Rican ambassador to the United States told the Journal-World Monday that DNA evidence collected as part of the Shannon Martin murder investigation has arrived in the United States for analysis at the FBI crime lab in Washington, D.C.

Victim's mother awaits DNA testing, threatens boycott
Monday, July 2, 2001
By Matt Merkel-Hess

Brutus, a 12-year-old German Shepherd, lost his best friend and caretaker when Kansas University student Shannon Martin was killed in Costa Rica.
The dog, at 80 pounds, weighed almost as much as the 5-foot-4, 102-pound Martin. But that didn't stop her from taking the dog everywhere she went.

6News report: Mother 'outraged' about Costa Rican investigation
Monday, July 2, 2001
How will the evidence in the slaying of Kansas University student Shannon Martin be used by Costa Rican officials?

Murder case top priority, Costa Rican official says
Saturday, June 30, 2001
By Matt Merkel-Hess

The Costa Rican Ambassador to the United States told the Journal-World Friday that solving the Shannon Martin murder is a "top priority" for his government. Ambassador Jaime Darenblum said official concern about the May 13 brutal stabbing of the Kansas University student is "extremely high."

Mother of slain KU student turns up heat on Costa Rica
Friday, June 29, 2001
By Matt Merkel-Hess

Shannon Martin's mother is doing her best to raise a ruckus, trying to turn up heat on the Costa Rican government so it will move more quickly in its investigation of the Kansas University student's brutal slaying.
"I know things have not been moving there that should have been moving," Jeanette Stauffer said Thursday. "I'm just so frustrated. I don't feel they at all are giving precedence to it."

Confusion shrouds evidence
Tuesday, June 26, 2001
By Mindie Miller


Confusion surrounding the whereabouts of evidence in the case of slain Kansas University student Shannon Martin has left her mother distraught.
Jeanette Stauffer, Topeka, heard Monday from the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica that hair samples she previously thought were tested at a forensics lab in San Jose, Costa Rica, had never left Golfito, the small, Pacific Coast town where her daughter was brutally slain May 13.

Evidence in KU student slaying to be sent to U.S.
Wednesday, June 20, 2001
(Updated Wednesday at 11:24 a.m.) By Matt Merkel-Hess

Evidence that could help solve the brutal slaying of KU student Shannon Martin will be sent to the United States for DNA testing.

Costa Rica slaying opens another family's wound
Monday, June 18, 2001
By Matt Merkel-Hess

An Ann Arbor, Mich., father knows all too well what the family of slain Kansas University student Shannon Martin must be going through. In March 2000, Charles Eagen's daughter and a friend were shot to death during a trip to Costa Rica.
"I cried when I found out about Shannon," Eagen said last week. "The same damn things were coming out, about how safe Costa Rica is. I got furious inside; I just couldn't go through it again."

Investigation of Costa Rica slaying frustrates mother
Tuesday, June 12, 2001
By Matt Merkel-Hess

The mother of a Kansas University student slain in Costa Rica this spring is frustrated with the handling of her daughter's case by authorities there.
Hair samples that could help solve the case will not be sent to the United States for testing because Costa Rican authorities do not want to pay for it.

Evidence seized in stabbing case under analysis
Thursday, May 24, 2001
By Matt Merkel-Hess

Police investigating the stabbing death of a Kansas University student in Golfito, Costa Rica, have seized an apparently blood-soaked T-shirt and a kitchen knife, a Costa Rican daily newspaper reported.
La Nacion newspaper reported the discovery came Tuesday when police searched three houses near Golfito as part of their continuing investigation into the May 13 killing of KU student Shannon Martin.

Farewell to a friend
Sunday, May 20, 2001
By Dave Ranney

Four days before she was killed, Shannon Martin sent her tall, red-headed boyfriend, Dave Schmitz, a quick e-mail. "It was short and to the point, which was typical," Schmitz said, addressing 500 family members, friends and university officials who filled Countryside United Methodist Church's spacious sanctuary.

A sad day
Sunday, May 20, 2001

Gathering honors slain KU student
Saturday, May 19, 2001
By Mike Belt

She was a dancer, an animal lover and an idealist with a big smile. Shannon Martin was remembered Friday night with a mixture of joy and sadness, tears and smiles. At least 200 people gathered at Ecumenical Christian Ministries, 1204 Oread, to remember Martin, the 23-year-old Kansas University student who was stabbed to death last weekend in Costa Rica.

KU to review Golfito program
Friday, May 18, 2001
By Scott Rothschild

Kansas University will conduct a review of its study-abroad program operation in Golfito, Costa Rica, in light of the slaying of Shannon Martin, Chancellor Robert Hemenway said Thursday. "We'll do a full analysis," Hemenway said, adding that the safety of students is the No. 1 priority for study programs abroad.

View from Golfito
Friday, May 18, 2001

KU not to blame
Friday, May 18, 2001

Fond memories
Friday, May 18, 2001

KU escorts slain student home
Thursday, May 17, 2001
By Amber Stuever

The body of Shannon Martin, the Kansas University student murdered while doing research in Golfito, Costa Rica, will return today to Kansas, escorted by a KU official and the slain woman's boyfriend. Susan Gronbeck-Tedesco, interim director of study abroad at KU, and David Schmitz, KU senior and Martin's boyfriend, left Wednesday for Costa Rica and are expected to return sometime today.

Slain KU student's body released by Costa Rica officials
Thursday, May 17, 2001
(Web Posted Thursday at 10:35 a.m.) Shannon Martin's body was released from the police morgue in San Jose, Costa Rica about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Nacion, a San Jose daily newspaper.

Killing shocks coastal town
Wednesday, May 16, 2001
By Kevin Bates

Those who live in Golfito, Costa Rica, call it a quiet Pacific coast town where events like the savage murder of Kansas University senior Shannon Martin never happen. "It's not a violent place," said Oscar Quiros, a lifelong resident and director of Kansas University's study-abroad program in Golfito. "Local people walk late at night with no worry," Quiros said. "Everybody's totally shocked and confused. We have no idea why it happened. We can't even imagine."

Shannon Martin obituary
Wednesday, May 16, 2001

Golfito safety
Wednesday, May 16, 2001

Services for slain student slated here, Topeka
Wednesday, May 16, 2001
By Kevin Bates

Services are scheduled in Topeka and Lawrence to honor a Kansas University student murdered in Costa Rica. Family and friends will remember Shannon Martin, 23, at a Friday morning ceremony at Countryside United Methodist Church in Topeka. Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home, Topeka, is in charge of arrangements, and burial will be at Highland Cemetery in Ottawa.

FBI may investigate Costa Rica slaying
Tuesday, May 15, 2001
By Kevin Bates

The FBI may join Costa Rican officials investigating the brutal weekend slaying of a Kansas University student who traveled to the Central American country last week to complete her research on tropical ferns.
Shannon Martin, 23, was found dead about 3 a.m. Sunday in the small Pacific port town of Golfito. She had been stabbed several times, officials said.

KU student slain abroad
Monday, May 14, 2001
By Mike Belt

Reports Sunday that a Kansas University student had been murdered in Costa Rica sent a shock wave across campus.
Details, however, were lacking late Sunday about how Shannon Martin, a 23-year-old Topeka senior, was killed in the small, coastal town of Golfito.