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Murder in Puerto Rico

Former Bay Area resident and professional yacht chef Sara Kuszak was raped and murdered in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, on Wednesday during her morning run. Kuszak, who was five months pregnant with her first child, had flown in from Savannah, Georgia, on Tuesday evening to meet up with her fiancé, professional yacht captain Cheshire McIntosh. According to the Puerto Rican newspaper Primera Hora, Kuszak and McIntosh, both 35, had been hired by Peter Dooney to crew on his yacht Minnow, which was moored at Marina Puerto del Rey in Fajardo, for a trip to Tortola.

A long-time runner, Kuszak took off Wednesday morning for her daily jog, reportedly after asking locals about where to go. According to police, around 9 a.m., Eliezer Marquez Navedo, 36, grabbed Kuszak as she ran by his car and forced her into the trunk. As Navedo drove to a remote location, Kuszak managed to make a frantic call to a marina employee who contacted the police. According to an Associated Press story, she was also able to call her fiancé, telling him she knew she was going to die. Authorities tracked her cell phone signal to the pocket of a blood-soaked Navedo, who confessed to raping and murdering Kuszak. Primera Hora reports that an hour after Kuszak made her desperate call for help, her half-naked body was found about 75 feet off the road with her throat slashed.

Navedo is in custody and will reportedly face charges of first degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and two counts of rape. If convicted, he could be sentenced to as much as 130 years. Meanwhile, Primera Hora has reported that Navedo’s mother served 16 years in prison after confessing to sexually assaulting and slashing the throats of two children (she was released a year ago), a crime in which police believe Navedo was involved. They’ve also reported that Navedo allegedly tried to kidnap a child just last week.

Sara Kuszak and Cheshire McIntosh met about five years ago when she was vacationing in Fiji and he was sailing in a regatta, and had been together ever since. She left her life in San Francsico in 2004 to move to his homebase of Savannah. The couple worked together on several yachts aboard which he captained and she cooked. They were to be married next month.

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