Justice eludes family 9 years after suspect disappears

By Kate Howard, The Tennessean

For nine years, Brenda McClintock has mourned her only son, Christopher Walton, and wondered what the man charged with shooting him is doing.

Is Ciro Alberto Garcia-Zuniga living the good life on a beach in Costa Rica? Does he look over his shoulder?

Regardless of how Garcia-Zuniga is living, the mother hopes he is tormented. Police say Garcia-Zuniga and several others broke into Walton's home in August 2000, leading to the fatal shooting of McClintock's 25-year-old son. Everyone else charged with the crime has said Garcia-Zuniga was holding the gun when Walton was shot.

But Garcia-Zuniga, now 31 and charged with felony murder, has never been arrested for the crime. Investigators believe he fled to Costa Rica shortly after the murder, and there's no sign that he has returned to the United States.

While Costa Rica has a treaty with the United States allowing extradition, it isn't clear whether that country would be willing to turn him over. Garcia-Zuniga is an American citizen, but he was born in Costa Rica. The treaty has a clause that allows the Costa Rican government to take extradition requests for their nationals on a case-by-case basis. Some countries have blanket policies rejecting all extradition requests for their own citizens.

Metro cold-case detectives have reopened the case, and federal prosecutors have filed a federal fugitive warrant against Garcia-Zuniga and charged him with fleeing to avoid prosecution. The FBI is considering posting a reward for information that would help find him.

"It would be safe to assume that police agencies involved in locating Garcia have recently received some specific information as to where this fugitive is, and are actively following up on that information," Metro police Sgt. Pat Postiglione said.

Extradition from countries in Latin America has long been a difficult issue, where there is a tradition of refusing to extradite nationals to face charges in other countries, said Diane Marie Amann, professor at the University of California Davis School of Law and director of the university's California International Law Center.

"My assumption would be that the legal departments in both countries are studying whether Costa Rica, in fact, has an obligation to surrender this man, given his citizenship history," Amann said.

Attempts to extradite Garcia-Zuniga were made within the first few years after the murder, Postiglione said. An extradition warrant was filed in 2003, according to the FBI, and Garcia-Zuniga was placed in the Interpol system that would flag him if he were to travel.

"Hopefully, he'll soon be brought back to face trial," Postiglione said.

The news has given a small bit of hope to McClintock, who has seen each of Garcia-Zuniga's co-defendants receive plea deals in exchange for a promise to testify against Garcia-Zuniga. She went to every court hearing, she said, and saw most of the co-defendants given probation. But justice won't be served for her and Walton's son, now 15, until Garcia-Zuniga faces trial, she says.

"I've done everything I can do," McClintock said. "All we can do now is hope and pray the system works."

She has written to the two co-defendants serving time for the incident, asking for answers. She said both said they were sorry for what they'd done but that it was Garcia-Zuniga who masterminded the home invasion.

Seven people were charged in the home invasion and shooting that led to Walton's death. Six have faced related charges. Four of them - people who participated in the planning of the invasion and the incident - were given probation in exchange for a promise to testify against Garcia-Zuniga, if he were located.

Life changed forever

Police say Walton was at home with a couple of friends when the door was kicked in on Aug. 8, 2000.

"My life changed forever on August 8, and I will not rest until Alberto Garcia is brought before your court for murdering my son," McClintock said in the victim impact statement that she filed with the court several years ago, when one of Garcia-Zuniga's co-defendants faced his own sentencing.

Brad Stoltz testified at his sentencing hearing that he was 21 and a friend of Garcia-Zuniga when he was asked to go with him to Walton's house. He was told that Walton had vandalized Garcia-Zuniga's Jeep, and they were going to beat him up in retaliation.

Garcia-Zuniga passed out bandannas to cover their faces, he said. Stoltz then realized several of them were carrying guns, though he denied carrying one himself. He said Garcia-Zuniga ran in shouting for Walton and that the gun went off soon after.

Stoltz, who was sentenced to probation for facilitation in the incident, said he spoke to Garcia-Zuniga the next day. Stoltz said Garcia-Zuniga said he was leaving the country.

Keith Moses, with the Nashville field office of the FBI, said they need more confirmed details before they are able to request extradition from Costa Rica. Garcia-Zuniga has been listed in the Interpol system as a wanted man for several years, so he could be tracked down if he were to leave the country. They are seeking approval to post a reward for information leading to his apprehension.

The FBI is not permitted to enter other countries and take people into custody for a crime that occurred in the United States, Moses said.

The dead man's cousin, Jamie Jones, said she spends a lot of time with Walton's son, trying to refresh the fading memories he has of the father who died when he was 5.

She and McClintock keep up with the cases, writing letters to the judge asking for them to be sent to serve time if they violate their probation.

"Every day of his life should be hell like every day of ours is hell," Jones said.