Karina del Pozo was born in Quito, Ecuador, in 1993. From a very young age, she faced significant hardships, beginning with the death of her father when she was just two years old. Her father passed away from cancer, leaving Karina, her older brother Milton, and their mother to continue their lives without him. Despite these early struggles, Karina del Pozo found support in her friendships with Liz and Aleja, two close friends she had known since childhood. Together, they created lasting memories, often spending their time playing basketball with other children in the neighborhood.
Karina del Pozo
In 2008, when Karina del Pozo was 15 years old, tragedy struck once more—her mother also passed away from cancer, leaving her and Milton orphaned. Before her death, Karina’s mother had entrusted Liz’s family with her care, a promise that Liz’s mother honored. With no parents left to rely on, both Karina and Milton were forced to grow up quickly. Karina, though still young, started working as a model to support herself financially. She continued her education, balancing work and studies with the determination to one day attend university and pursue a degree in business administration or marketing.
By the time Karina del Pozo graduated from high school, she had blossomed into a responsible and driven young woman. Though her childhood had been marked by loss, she remained close with her friends and her brother Milton, who remained her pillar of strength. Karina worked both as a model and a producer, saving as much as she could to fund her education. However, the money she earned wasn’t enough to achieve her goals, and she began searching for more stable job opportunities.
The Day She Disappeared
On February 19, 2013, Karina del Pozo set out to collect her last paycheck from a previous job at the Ministry of Labor. Her day’s agenda also included delivering résumés in search of new employment. That morning, she dressed in her usual style—wearing a black leather jacket, a brown blouse, boots, two metal bracelets, and a green short, along with her favorite owl necklace. She met up with María Cecilia, a friend she had known for about a month, and together, they went to various places to submit Karina’s job applications.
Later that day, Karina and Cecilia met up with Juan Pablo, a man who had shown interest in Karina del Pozo, at a local bar. The trio spent several hours together, and Karina sent a message to her brother Milton, letting him know she would be home later. This would be the last communication Milton received from her.
The next morning, Milton woke up to find that Karina del Pozo had not returned home. His attempts to reach her were unsuccessful—her phone was turned off, and no one knew where she was. Concerned for her safety, Milton immediately started searching, visiting her former workplace and various universities across Quito in hopes of finding any trace of her. Liz and her family also joined in, putting up flyers and alerting the community. Desperate for answers, Liz even reached out to a psychic and used social media to spread the word about her friend’s disappearance.
The Investigation
On February 21, the State Attorney’s Office officially declared Karina as a missing person. Milton informed the police that Karina del Pozo had last been seen with Cecilia, and authorities quickly reached out to her. Cecilia explained their activities that day, detailing how they had gone to a bar where they met Juan Pablo. After spending time there, Juan Pablo had offered to drive them home but instead suggested stopping by his apartment. Assured that they would leave soon, the girls reluctantly agreed to go.
At the apartment, more people joined the group—Juan Pablo’s friends José Antonio Sevilla, Nicolás León, Manuel Salazar, and David Piña, who had previously dated Karina. The gathering, which included Cecilia’s ex-boyfriend Nicolás, turned into an unusual situation. As the night went on, Karina and Cecilia expressed a desire to leave, but they were persuaded to stay longer. It wasn’t until around 1:30 AM that Manuel offered to drive them home. Cecilia suggested that Karina del Pozo stay at her place for the night, but Karina insisted on returning to her own home.
When Karina del Pozo and David left the apartment on the night of her disappearance, they sat together in the backseat of Manuel’s car, while José took the front seat alongside Manuel. The group first dropped off Cecilia and Nicolás, but what happened next became a point of contention in the investigation. On February 22, Manuel and José told police that after dropping off the others, Karina became frustrated when they didn’t take her home and got out of the car, supposedly hailing a taxi along Brasil Avenue. They described the cab as a yellow Nissan. David, who claimed to have been too intoxicated to recall much of the night, confirmed only that Karina had indeed taken a taxi.
Investigators quickly turned to the GPS data from Manuel’s car and reviewed nearby security camera footage. While the footage confirmed that Cecilia and Nicolás were indeed dropped off, it also revealed a surprising detail—Karina del Pozo and José shared a kiss, a fact José had initially omitted, raising suspicions about his version of events. The GPS data provided even more damning evidence. Contrary to their claims about stopping on Brasil Avenue, the tracking showed the car had actually been stationary for several hours in Yano Chico, an area five miles away from Juan Pablo’s apartment. This discrepancy immediately led investigators to suspect that this location held crucial clues to Karina’s fate.
A Chilling Discovery
On February 27, around 6 PM, a team from the anti-kidnapping unit ventured into the remote area between Yano Chico and Yano Grande. They followed a cobblestone path that led them to a dirt road ending in a dead end. There, amidst the overgrown vegetation, they made a grim discovery—Karina’s owl necklace, the same one she had been wearing when she disappeared. The investigators pressed deeper into the underbrush, where they encountered freshly cut bushes and disturbed soil. A foul odor led them to a tree trunk, and beneath it, they found Karina’s decomposing body, concealed for eight days.
Karina’s body was taken for forensic analysis, but many questions remained. Shortly after her body was found, authorities charged Manuel, David, José, Juan Pablo, Nicolás, and Cecilia with her murder. However, Cecilia and Nicolás were later cleared of suspicion, as it was proven that they had been at home during the time of the crime.
The autopsy revealed that Karina del Pozo had died in the early hours of February 20, shortly after leaving Juan Pablo’s apartment. She had sustained multiple skull fractures, likely caused by a heavy object, and a brain hemorrhage. Evidence of strangulation was also present, and tragically, the autopsy confirmed that Karina had been sexually assaulted. Soil found under her fingernails matched the soil at the crime scene, and male bodily fluids were discovered on her body. However, forensic tests at the time were inconclusive in definitively linking the fluids to any of the suspects.
As the investigation progressed, more incriminating evidence surfaced. On March 12, a more thorough search of Manuel’s car revealed blood and saliva matching Karina’s DNA. This discovery intensified public outcry, and the case gained national attention. That same day, a large march was held, with Karina’s family joining other families of missing persons, all demanding justice and answers.
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Conflicting Stories
As pressure mounted, the statements of José, Manuel, and David began to unravel. David, who had initially claimed he was too drunk to remember the events of that night, changed his story. He admitted to fabricating the taxi narrative under police pressure. He also confessed to having consensual sex with Karina del Pozo but maintained that he had no role in her death. Manuel, who initially backed the taxi story, revised his account.
He claimed that David had asked him to drive to Yano Chico, where the murder occurred. According to Manuel, David tried to make a move on Karina del Pozo, and when she rejected him, he followed her out of the car, telling her, “Do you want to see how someone is killed?” Manuel alleged that David then attacked Karina with a rock and strangled her while he watched from the car.
José also altered his account. After initially being vague, he confessed to having consensual sex with Karina at Juan Pablo’s apartment. Days later, Manuel once again shifted his story, claiming that after Karina exited the car, David attacked and strangled her, asking Manuel for help in holding her down. Manuel stated that he struck Karina del Pozo with a rock, though forensic analysis later disproved this, as the autopsy revealed no neck fractures.
In a final twist, José claimed that during the car ride, David had attempted to assault Karina del Pozo, and when she resisted, Manuel joined the attack. According to this version, they both beat her with a rock, and when Karina didn’t die immediately, David allegedly slit her throat—though this account also didn’t align with the autopsy findings.
The Search for Justice
As the case unfolded, the conflicting stories of the suspects and the mounting evidence painted a tragic picture of Karina’s final moments. While the investigation brought to light new details about the night she disappeared, many questions about the true nature of her death remained unanswered, leaving her family and the public demanding justice for Karina del Pozo.
As the investigation unfolded, the various accounts provided by the suspects only deepened the mystery of what really happened to Karina del Pozo. Despite José and Manuel pointing the blame at David, investigators struggled to find physical evidence that directly implicated him. However, in March, crucial developments emerged. Bloodstains were discovered inside Manuel’s car—on the steering wheel, door handles, and floor mats—indicating that whoever killed Karina had been seated in the front of the vehicle. Dirt and mud consistent with the soil found on Karina’s body were also found in Manuel’s home. To make matters worse, bloodstains were found on Manuel’s clothes from the night of the murder, and Karina’s memory card was discovered in his wallet.
Additional Evidence and Public Reaction
Further examination revealed even more damning evidence. Bloodstains matching Karina del Pozo’s DNA were discovered on José’s bedsheets, and soil from the crime scene was found on his shoes. In contrast, no traces of blood or soil were found in David’s home or on his clothes, leading some to believe he had cleaned up after the murder. Despite the lack of physical evidence tying David to the scene, both José and Manuel’s testimonies continued to point to him as the perpetrator.
Public reaction to the case was mixed. Some people blamed Karina, suggesting that she had put herself in a dangerous situation by going out with a group of men. A controversial YouTube video, which was later removed, implied that Karina had “brought this upon herself,” showing her in a dress alongside a male friend. Liz, Karina’s close friend, publicly condemned these victim-blaming narratives, emphasizing that Karina del Pozo had no reason to distrust the men she was with.
Liz also expressed her frustration when questioned by authorities, who implied that Karina might have been involved in sex work. Liz vehemently denied these baseless accusations, stressing that Karina’s personal life had no bearing on the crime and did not justify her murder.
Liz later shared her outrage at how investigators handled questions about Karina’s clothing and behavior. She remarked that if Karina del Pozo had been a man, such questions would never have been asked. Despite these biases, the investigation moved forward, and later that year, the trial began for Manuel, José, and David.
Psychological Evaluations
During the trial, psychological evaluations of the three suspects provided deeper insight into their personalities. Manuel was described as having an inferiority complex, a submissive personality, and a history of violent behavior, along with misogynistic tendencies. José, on the other hand, exhibited psychopathic traits, a lack of moral principles, and a deep-seated hatred for women. Both men had a history of drug use.
David, however, was found to have a narcissistic and paranoid personality, without showing signs of misogyny. His defense argued that David had been at home at the time of Karina’s murder, supported by a phone call from his then-girlfriend. Additionally, female hair strands found in Karina del Pozo’s hand raised the possibility of a woman’s involvement in the crime, a lead that was not thoroughly investigated.
A Trial with Lingering Doubts
Despite mounting evidence implicating José as the primary offender and Manuel as an accomplice, the prosecution maintained its stance. Manuel’s testimony, in which he claimed that David was the one who killed Karina, became the official version of events. According to this account, Manuel held Karina del Pozo down while David struck her with rocks. José, meanwhile, was portrayed as merely present at the scene, without direct involvement in the murder.
In October 2013, the court found David guilty of being the main perpetrator, with Manuel and José convicted as accomplices. All three men were sentenced to 25 years in prison for Karina’s murder, along with a $20,000 compensation payment to her family. During the verdict, David was the only one to break down in tears, and many members of the public believed in his innocence, as questions about the case remained unanswered.
A lawyer later revealed that, prior to the first court hearing, Manuel and José had mocked David, allegedly boasting that they were the true culprits and had successfully shifted the blame onto him. Despite the evidence—Karina del Pozo’s DNA on José’s clothing and the discovery of her memory card in Manuel’s possession—both men were still labeled as accomplices, while David bore the brunt of the blame.
David continued to proclaim his innocence, asserting that media and political pressure had influenced his conviction. He questioned why Manuel’s constantly changing stories were accepted and why the investigation had not fully explored the possibility that he was not present at the scene. David even claimed that he felt like a “hostage” of the state, as the prosecution never pursued alternate theories of the crime.
As Karina del Pozo’s family grappled with their loss, her case had a broader impact on Ecuador’s legal system. At the time of her murder, femicide had not been officially recognized as a crime in Ecuador. In April 2013, Karina’s cousin submitted a bill to the National Assembly, calling for femicide to be classified as a criminal offense in her name. The following year, Ecuador’s Congress passed reforms to the penal code, officially recognizing femicide as the killing of a woman as a result of gender-based violence. The punishment for femicide ranged from 22 to 26 years in prison.
Post-Conviction Tragedies
While Karina del Pozo’s case led to significant legal changes, the pain of her loss continued. In 2015, David was brutally attacked by four inmates in prison, leaving him with severe injuries. The attackers were later sentenced to 29 years in prison for the assault. Despite the convictions and legal reforms, Karina’s case remains a haunting reminder of the need for justice and accountability in cases of gender-based violence.
In the years following his conviction, David sought to make the most of his time in prison. He dedicated himself to studying law, and after years of hard work, he successfully earned a law degree. In April 2022, David achieved a small legal victory when a judge partially granted his habeas corpus request—a legal tool meant to protect an individual’s freedom when it is unlawfully restricted or when their conditions in detention worsen. While the ruling did not reduce David’s sentence or improve his immediate situation in prison, it did ensure that he would receive psychological treatment for the abuse he endured behind bars and granted him access to medical care when needed.
David’s lawyer remained committed to securing his release, and on May 23, 2023, their persistence paid off. After serving 10 years and three months in prison, David was granted parole. His release marked the end of his time behind bars, but it came with strict conditions. David is required to report weekly to the prison for five hours, wear an electronic ankle monitor, avoid any contact with Karina del Pozo’s family, check in monthly with a judge, and undergo regular psychological evaluations. While his newfound freedom brought some relief, the conditions attached to it were a constant reminder of his complicated legal situation.
Meanwhile, José, whose prison record was marked by repeated misconduct, was transferred to another facility. His behavior in prison raised further suspicions about his involvement in Karina del Pozo’s murder. Despite the passage of time, the exact details of what happened on the night of her death remain uncertain. While many still believe that David was the one responsible for the crime, others view him as a victim of a broken justice system. There are growing voices that suggest José might have been the true perpetrator, with Manuel acting as his accomplice.
A Tragic Act of Femicide
Regardless of the differing opinions on who was directly responsible for Karina’s murder, what remains indisputable is that her death was a horrific act of femicide. Karina del Pozo was subjected to extreme violence at the hands of three men, and the brutality of her murder continues to haunt her family and those who advocate for women’s rights. The lingering questions surrounding her death keep the case alive in the public consciousness, fueling ongoing debates about justice and accountability. Yet, through it all, Karina’s family remains unwavering in their fight to honor her memory and seek justice for the crime committed against her.
