In 2006, Eric Volz was a 27-year-old U.S. citizen living and working in Managua, Nicaragua. He had launched the bilingual EP Magazine, which was designed to promote sustainable development and smart tourism in Central America.
On November 21, 2006, Eric received news that his ex-girlfriend, Doris Jimenez, had been brutally murdered in San Juan del Sur, a beach town located a two-hour drive away from Managua. Two days later, Eric was arrested and wrongfully charged with her murder.
The case against Eric should have immediately been dismissed because there was no evidence Eric was involved in the crime, but rather there was substantial evidence that he was in Managua when Doris was murdered. Instead, the Nicaraguan government initiated a “trial” that was full of legally improper procedures and problematic witnesses. In his defense, Eric tried to show he couldn’t have committed this crime: (1) he called 10 alibi witnesses who had personally met with Eric in Managua before, during, and after the time the murder was committed, giving him an iron-clad alibi; (2) cell phone tower records proving that Eric was using his cell phone in Managua during the period the prosecution claimed he was in San Juan Del Sur; and (3) time-stamped instant-messaging records showing Eric involved in business discussions at the time the murder occurred.
Even though the prosecution presented no credible evidence against Eric, the trial judge, Judge Yvette Toruño Blanco, held that all of the evidence exonerating Eric lacked “credibility.” Instead, the judge wrongfully convicted Eric of murder and sentenced him to 30 years in prison, based solely on the testimony of a local surfer and known alcoholic who was himself originally arrested and charged for the crime. The individual was later released when he promised to testify that he had seen Eric in the vicinity of the crime scene at the time of the murder. Nothing else connected Eric to the crime.
The criminal proceedings were a media and public spectacle. During Eric’s hearings, and each day of his three-day trial, angry mobs of residents gathered outside the courtroom each day calling for the “gringo’s” death. Their threats and shouts could be heard inside the courtroom. The Nicaraguan government did nothing to stop or curtail these threats and failed to provide even the appearance of due process protections for Eric. In one instance, after exiting the courthouse, Eric and a security officer from the U.S. Embassy were forced to run for their lives when a vigilante mob of a few hundred people chased them with clubs and machetes with the intent to kill Eric. Eric narrowly escaped.
Eric Volz was convicted of the crime and spent more than a year in prison in deplorable conditions. Eventually, Eric’s conviction was overturned on appeal, and he was released. The appellate court found that the trial court violated due process in convicting Eric of the crime. The Nicaraguan prosecutors, however, filed their own appeal (something they are legally barred from doing under Nicaraguan law) with the Nicaraguan Supreme Court seeking reversal of the appellate court’s opinion. The Supreme accepted the petition but, to this day, has not reopened the case.
As a result of his wrongful imprisonment in Nicaragua, and his subsequent book Gringo Nightmare, his story has been featured worldwide and has become an inspiration for other U.S. citizens unjustly detained abroad.
The Innocence Center represents Eric Volz in his ongoing effort to fully clear his name. To date, no one has been held accountable for Doris’ murder and there are many aspects of the Doris Jiménez murder that remain unsolved. Should you or someone you know have information related to the case, please send it to: info@theinnocencecenter.org.
