Adam met Aurea
shortly after arriving
in Puerto RicoAurea pretended she’d been
attacked too to make it
look like a violent robberyAdam was left for dead after being stabbed
and hit over the head with a cobblestoneAurea, now 38, Marcia and José had met with
Alex to arrange the attack.
Aurea had lured Adam to dinner on the
night he was killed – and José had called Alex
to tell him when and where to strike, making
sure he knew Adam had to die.
Adam’s family had to listen as witnesses
described how Adam had fought to protect
the very woman who had arranged his death.
Witnesses also said Aurea watched as her
husband was murdered – then appeared to
remind Alex to push her to the ground to injure
her enough to back up the robbery story.
After the attack, Alex had written letters to
Aurea trying to get the money, but Marcia
wrote back saying they didn’t have it. After all,
they were supposed to pay him with the money
they expected to get from Adam’s estate.
In October 2018, Aurea, Marcia and
José were all found guilty.
“I’m innocent,” Aurea cried.
At the sentencing in March
2019, all three were given
life in prison.
“Are you happy now?”
Aurea snapped to Adam’s dad
as she was led away.
He replied, “Shut up.”
Abraham had worked tirelessly
to get justice for his son for
more than a decade.
At last, after 13 years,
Aurea was transferred to a
prison in Fort Worth, Texas,
but it’s no surprise her lawyers
say they plan to appeal.
Aurea has been trying to
get her own way since she
set her sights on Adam, and
her motive was greed.
But no matter how far she
ran, her past would always
catch up with her.
GAIL SHORTLANDextradited. But the FBI were hot on Aurea’s
trail and the European press dubbed her “The
Black Widow” due to her history.
The father of Aurea’s twins discovered
she was on the run and left her, and now
has custody of the girls.
Together, American and Spanish authorities
worked on a “sting” to capture Aurea. They
created a fictitious travel operator and lured
Aurea to Madrid with the promise of a job.
Aurea took the bait, and when she caught
a flight to Spain in June 2013, she was
arrested upon landing.
Incredibly, while in custody
in a Spanish prison, she became
sexually involved with an inmate
who was serving time for drug
charges and became pregnant.
If it was yet another attempt
to avoid extradition, it failed.
In 2015, when the baby was
one month old, they were sent
back to Puerto Rico. Aurea was
behind bars and the baby was
taken into care.
Finally, Aurea was able to go
to trial, and she wasn’t alone.
Thanks to the confession by hired
attacker Alex, police were able to
connect Aurea’s sister Marcia and
Marcia’s ex-boyfriend José Ferrer
Sosa to the murder. All three had
approached Alex about the “job”.
After even more legal
problems, the trial began in
August 2018. The court heard thatsue his grieving parents, demanding a share
of his estate and insisting she had been
cheated out of what was rightfully hers.
Her claims were dismissed.
Adam’s family were certain Aurea was
involved, but they couldn’t prove it and the
police were on the wrong track.
Local witness descriptions led officers to a
dish-washer called Jonathan Román Rivera.
He was arrested, charged and, in 2007, he
was sentenced to 105 years in prison.
But he was innocent.
Jonathan would spend eight months behind
bars before he was cleared and released.
A tip-off led police to arrest a man called
Alex Pabón Colón, and in 2008, he confessed
that Aurea had promised him $3million
(£2.3million) to murder her estranged husband.
Alex said on the night of the killing, Aurea
had lured Adam to the prearranged spot for
the fatal attack.
BIG BREAKTHROUGH
It was a huge breakthrough, as Alex pleaded
guilty to murder and fully cooperated with
police – but by then Aurea had bolted.
What followed was a cat-and-mouse
game that would last years. In 2006, Aurea
fled to Italy – a country infamous for its
tough extradition laws. Adam’s family hired
a private detective to track her down.
She travelled across borders, changed her
name, dyed her hair and lived openly as a tour
guide. She met an Italian man and fell pregnant
with twin girls who were born in August 2008.
Mothers of Italian children are unable to be
CRIME SPECIAL
Aurea’s sister Marcia
and her ex, Jose (below),
helped plan the attack