Homicide epidemic in Costa Rica

Crime in Costa Rica does not compare to crime in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, but that doesn't mean that the country isn't going through its own difficult times. Costa Rica ended 2015 with a homicide rate of 11.4 per 100,000, which is above the 10 that the World Health Organization considers to be "epidemic." Authorities recorded 558 homicides late year, 81 more than 2014.

Thirty-seven percent of the homicides have been chalked up to a" settling of scores among drug trafficking gangs and other criminal groups" by the Organismo de Investigacion Judicial (OJI).

You can read about crime in Costa Rica with Zach Dyer's biggest crime stories of 2015 for The Tico Times, including San José’s new serial killer.

As many as nine victims have been attributed to a serial killer on the prowl in San José in one of the most disturbing crime stories of 2015. Targeting drug addicts and sex workers, the suspected serial killer has been dubbed “Mata Indigentes” — Killer of the Poor. The suspect is believed to be the second-most prolific serial killer in Costa Rican history.

It looks like there were originally six stories but they settled on five.