Guatemala hunts killers of ex-beauty queen
Helen Lopez Roblero, who was crowned beauty queen three years ago died in by gunfire on December 17
GUATEMALA CITY (AFP) - Guatemalan police on Friday hunted for the killers of a former beauty queen and two companions, who were shot dead in their car in what looked like an organized hit.
Helen Lopez Roblero, who was crowned beauty queen three years ago of the southwestern town of Malacatan where the attack happened, died in a torrent of automatic gunfire on December 17, according to Guatemalan news reports.
A female friend and a man in the car were also killed. Another male passenger survived.
Grisly video of the aftermath of the attack posted online by one newspaper showed bloodied bodies in a white car, the two occupants in the front still strapped in by seatbelts. Lopez, fatally wounded, is seen pleading for help. She died later in hospital.
As of Friday, no arrests have been made, and police suspect the murder was carried out by one of the drug gangs active in the Central American country.
Guatemala is located in the so-called Northern Triangle, a high-crime region including neighboring Honduras and El Salvador that is prey to vicious violence by street gangs.
