Man Accused of Killing St. Louis Woman in Panama May Be Criminal From TV Show

By Chad Garrison

Jul 30, 2010 at 3:23 pm

amw.com

William Holbert, or is it William Cortez?

The suspect arrested for killing St. Louis native Cheryl Lynn Hughes in Nicaragua told authorities in Central America that his name is actually William Dathan Holbert -- a U.S. citizen featured on the show America's Most Wanted for fraud, car theft and resisting arrest.

Holbert -- traveling as William Cortez -- was arrested this week trying to enter Costa Rica with his wife, Jane Cortez. The couple was arrested on suspicion of killing Hughes and another person -- Bo Icelar -- in Nicaragua and burying their bodies in a shallow grave. Hughes moved to the Central American country a decade ago.

According to the Associated Press, Holbert (a.k.a. Cortez) allegedly killed his victims in order to gain control of their real-estate in Nicaragua, which he apparently planned to sell. Holbert is also charged in North Carolina of using bogus deeds to sell real estate that did not belong to him.

AMW reports that Holbert is a white supremacist who once operate a store in North Carolina selling racist knickknacks. Holbert and his wife were deported to Panama today in shackles. Asked while getting off the plane if he had killed Hughes and Icelar, he responded: "I need to speak to them (authorities) about that. I just want to say, thanks for the trip."

Tags:

St. Louis Metro News Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

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Chad Garrison

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