The cold-blooded slaying of Rebeca Pena finally gets a closure -- two decades later. After a deeper probe was launched earlier this year, it came into the CBS Miami’s understanding that Berkley Calvin Curtis Jr., Pena’s abusive ex, had a role to play, despite his alibi convincing them otherwise, years ago.
Curtis is lodged at Broward County Jail on Wednesday but is expected to be moved to a prison in Miami-Dade. Curtis was arrested after Miami police investigated the home she once shared with Curtis and found weights on the patio that were later identified as those in the suitcase.
The verdict brought a sigh of relief for Pena’s family, who’ve been living with the nightmarish loss for the last 19 years. “With this news of the arrest of this person, the pain will be less because justice has been served,” said Rafael Pena, her father, to CBS Miami.
“But the emptiness is still there and won’t go away. Every day we don’t see her here, we cry a little. But we’re satisfied with the life we gave her. I tell everyone, enjoy life with your children, and forgive them because you don’t know what may happen one day,” he added.
The gruesome murder 2001 of Pena surfaced after the 26-year-old supporting artist’s body was discovered by boaters in a floating suitcase – stuffed with 25-pound weights and a magazine – in the Biscayne River canal underneath the I-95 overpass. The three men alerted cops as soon as they saw blood oozing out of the baggage.
She was last seen on April 11, 2001, with her car being found at her Miramar home, and Curtis had allegedly followed her and her then-boyfriend McPherson Magloire. As per Curtis’ arrest warrant, Pena was last seen leaving the set of a movie in which she played an extra. It is believed that Pena had notified close friends about Curtis’s abusive ways and allegedly feared that he’d harm her. She has already sought protection in Broward County.
“According to Ms. Pena’s father, Ms. Pena was afraid of Curtis and was concerned that he would harm her,” said the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office as per a “Conversations with the victim’s sister, Francis Pena, informed investigators that Curtis had been physically abusive to her sister in the past, citing an incident in November of 1998, where Curtis became violent, choking Rebeca Pena and requiring police intervention.
Other confrontative incidents were mentioned, including one mentioned by McPherson Magloire, Rebeca Pena’s boyfriend,” he added. “Based on her condition, we believe she was killed on the day she went missing,” Miami-Dade Police Homicide Detective David Denmark previously said.
The warrant further alleges that authorities tried to get in touch with Curtis for a detailed conversation but he had arranged for an attorney and refused to cooperate. Then, a month after Pena’s death, Curtis’ girlfriend at the time, Wavedo-Jo Wynter, spoke with the police and maintained that she and the 45-year-old went to bed early on the night of the crime -- and that the only time he’d left was to grab some essentials for their place earlier that evening.
Wynter, however, changed her stance 12 years later, who was now married to Curtis. This time around, she confessed to her husband had stepped out for several hours on a fateful day. An arrest was finally possible after authorities gathered substantial forensic evidence, which traced that the weighted plates at Curtis’ home matched those in the suitcase, and the attorney’s office said there was more evidence, including GPS records, that proved Curtis was at fault.
It is not immediately clear if Curtis has managed to arrange for an attorney. His former lawyer, however, maintained that his client had an alibi and there wasn’t any substantial evidence to hold against Curtis.
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