Puerto Rico
Victims of the State

1 Case

San Juan, Puerto Rico 

Jonathan Roman

Sept 23, 2005

Jonathan Roman Rivera was convicted of the murder of Adam Anhang. Anhang was a wealthy real-estate investor, an online gambling executive, and a native of Winnipeg, Canada. He was stabbed and beaten to death along the cobblestone streets of Old San Juan as he and his wife walked from the Pink Slip restaurant to their car. His wife, Aurea Vazquez Rijos, was wounded in the assault.

Witnesses identified Roman as the assailant, although Vazquez disagreed. Roman was sentenced to 105 years in prison. Following Roman's conviction, FBI investigators determined that Vasquez had offered another man, Alex Pabon Colon, $3 million to kill her husband. The FBI believed that Pabon had agreed to the offer and that he carried out the murder for hire. Reportedly, Roman and Pabon could easily be mistaken for one another, so it is believed that Roman was a victim of mistaken identity. Roman was released from prison in June 2008 after having spent 8 months imprisoned. Charges against him were dropped 3 months later.  (Dateline Video) (CBC) (Rivera v. Diaz)  [8/09]