Sentences imposed in murder, torture of Bethlehem woman

Wayne Ford, Athens Banner-Herald
·2 min read
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An Austell man was sentenced to life in prison and several others pleaded guilty to crimes linked to a drug-trafficking organization in connection with the April 2021 slaying of a Barrow County woman.

The sentences were imposed two years after the victim, Rossano Delgado, 37, of Bethlehem was slain and dismembered at a location in the Cherry Log community of Gilmer County.

The GBI said Rossanna Delgado was kidnapped, tortured and killed by members of an organization dealing drugs.
The GBI said Rossanna Delgado was kidnapped, tortured and killed by members of an organization dealing drugs.

Delgado was reported missing on April 16, 2021, by her husband and her body was found four days later, according to law enforcement reports.

Delgado was lured to a shopping mall in DeKalb County, where she was bound and taken to locations in Clayton and Gilmer counties, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The GBI said Delgado was tortured before she was murdered. The body was subsequently dismembered and burned.

On March 9, Oscar Manuel Garcia, 28, pleaded guilty to malice murder, kidnapping, concealing the death of another, removing body parts from the crime scene, and violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Garcia was sentenced to life in prison.

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Juan Antonio Vega, 27, of Cobb County pleaded to kidnapping, concealing the death of another, aggravated battery and violating the RICO act.  He was sentenced to 70 years with the first 30 years in prison.

Garcia and Vega both fled to Mexico after the slaying, but were captured there and returned to Georgia, according to the GBI.

Other suspects who pleaded guilty to RICO were Megan Alyssa Colone, 32, of Stone Mountain; Eva Galicia Martinez, 28, address unavailable; Terri Amanda Garner, 39, Calvin Harvard, and Shawn Callaway, 40, all three from Texas. They all received sentences from 18 years and less.

The GBI said three murder suspects have not been captured, but warrants are issued for their arrests.

The GBI has not commented on why or what kind of torture Delgado was subjected prior to her death at the rented mountain cabin in Gilmer County.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Sentences imposed in murder, torture death of Bethlehem woman