A woman accused of helping to lure four young men to their deaths at the hands of the MS-13 gang was found guilty Monday on all counts by a jury, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY).
Federal prosecutors said Leniz Escobar, then 17, drew five men to a park in Central Islip on New York's Long Island in 2017 under the guise of smoking marijuana, CBS reported. But when they got there, the gang brutally attacked and killed four of the men, while the fifth ran off.
The MS-13 gang, created by Salvadoran immigrants who came to the U.S., is a transnational criminal organization that is "notorious for its use of violence to achieve its objectives," according to the Office of Justice Programs, which is part of the U.S. Justice Department. The men who were lured to the park were believed by MS-13 to be members of a rival gang, the U.S. attorney's office said in a news release.
Justin Llivicura, 16, Michael Lopez, 20, Jorge Tigre, 18, and Jefferson Villalobos, 18, died after being attacked with machetes, knives, an ax and wooden clubs on April 11, 2017. Their bodies were found the next evening, the release said.
"With today's verdict, Escobar has been held responsible for the crucial role that she willingly played in orchestrating one of the most vicious and senseless mass murders in the district in memory," U.S. Attorney for the EDNY Breon Peace said in a statement.
He said Escobar showed "utter disregard for human life by leading the victims into a killing field, to their slaughter, to enhance her stature with her fellow cold-blooded murderers within the MS-13 gang."
Peace continued, "It is my hope that Escobar's conviction will bring some measure of closure to the relatives of the victims and serve as a warning to other gang members that this Office, together with our law enforcement partners, will not rest until everyone responsible for these murders is held accountable and the MS-13 no longer poses a danger to our district."
After a four-week trial, Escobar was found guilty of racketeering—including predicate acts of murder, conspiracy to murder rival gang members and obstruction of justice—and murder in aid of racketeering, according to the release. She could face up to life in prison when sentenced.
Keyli Gomez, a co-conspirator who pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in connection with the killings, testified at the trial that she and Escobar, also known as "Diablita," drove with the victims to the park, brought them to a predesignated area and texted MS-13 gang members to let them know they had arrived.
Under the cover of darkness, the MS-13 members headed to the location and surrounded the victims before attacking them. They moved their bodies to a more secluded spot in the woods and then left, the release said.
Prosecutors said that Escobar bragged about her involvement in the killings in the days following the killings and talked about them in recorded calls with her boyfriend, who was part of the MS-13 clique accused of being behind the attack.
She destroyed evidence that linked her to the killings by disposing of a blood-stained sweatshirt and throwing her phone out of a moving vehicle while police were following her. In addition, she falsely told detectives that she and Gomez were robbed in the park on the same night as the killings, according to the release.
Jesse Siegel, one of Escobar's attorneys, said in a statement to Newsweek that the defense was "disappointed" by the verdict but appreciated the jury's time and efforts during the trial. Siegel added that the defense's preparations for Escobar's sentencing will make sure that the judge has a "complete understanding of her personal history and characteristics when considering the sentence to impose."
Overall, more than a dozen members of MS-13 and associates have been charged in the 2017 killings. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the EDNY said that Monday's conviction is part of a string of federal prosecutions in an effort to crack down on the gang.
The Justice Department, which oversees the U.S. Attorney's Office for the EDNY, recently saw the successful sentencing in separate cases of a man who pleaded guilty to threatening two U.S. senators and a Chinese scientist who pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit economic espionage.
Update 4/11/22, 4:55 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information and background, as well as comments from one of Escobar's lawyers.
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