A young Colombian beauty queen and two other people were shot to death in the Caribbean city of Barranquilla, reported local media Monday.
18-year old Karina Rocio Paba Ruiz, her father Carlos Arturo Paba Escalante, and family friend Diego Humberto Ballen Betancurt were shot to death in the family’s apartment Monday morning.
According to a police report, the killers entered the house on foot. Besides the three killed, Paba’s twin sister Rocio was shot in the leg. The beauty queen’s mother and sister survived the attack by hiding under a bed. Another family friend escaped unhurt by fleeing through the backyard.
Paba had participated in beauty pageants and dreamed of becoming a model. She had also been nominated to represent her village in the Queen of Queen’s contest during this year’s world famous Barranquilla Carnival. Paba’s father supported her by attending many of the her competitions
The Barranquilla Police Commander was so moved that he appointed a panel of investigators to solve the case as quickly as possible and the authorities are offering a reward of up to 5 million pesos (almost $3,000) to anyone who can provide information that will lead to the killer’s identification and arrest.