A legendary California surfer was tortured by intruders demanding his bank card PINs before he was found stabbed to dєatᩚh, Costa Rican cops revealed after arresting his girlfriend.
Investigators now believe 66-year-old Santa Cruz surfing legend Kurt Van Dyke was set up by the woman who was with him the night he died.
Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) says the girlfriend, a 31-year-old identified only by her last name, Arroyo, helped the attackers get into Van Dyke’s home in Hone Creek, Cahuita, on Feb. 14, La Nación reported.
“The female had a relationship, as I said, with the American citizen,” Vladimir Muñoz, the agency’s acting deputy general director, told the outlet. He said investigators believe she was directly involved in the crime.
According to the police reconstruction, Arroyo was inside the house on Valentine’s Day when a 34-year-old man with the last name Gutiérrez came in with two other men.
The men allegedly went after Van Dyke to get the PINs for his bank cards. When he refused to give them up, they beat and tortured him, Muñoz said.
Van Dyke’s body was found under a bed. He had several apparent knife wounds and signs that he had been suffocated.
Early reports described a terrifying home invasion. Several armed men had stormed the property, and Arroyo was tied up by her hands and feet. She told police the attackers bound her and made off with valuables.
Investigators now say that story was a cover.
They believe the gang staged the theft of Arroyo’s car, which was parked at the house, to make the αttαᑕk look like a robbery.
The car was later found in Costa Rica’s Atlantic region with no damage, Muñoz said. Authorities say the staged theft supports their theory that Arroyo helped plan the 𝘬iᩚlling.
OIJ agents arrested Arroyo and Gutiérrez on Thursday, nearly nine months after the 𝘬iᩚlling, during three raids in Pocora and Astúa Pirie, near Guápiles. Both suspects live in Pocora.
Agents seized cellphones. They also took the vehicle Gutiérrez and the two other men allegedly rode in to get to Van Dyke’s home.
Those two men still haven’t been identified, and the search for them is ongoing. Arroyo and Gutiérrez have been referred to Costa Rica’s Public Ministry, which will decide whether they face charges.
Van Dyke, son of Northern California surfing pioneers Gene and Betty Van Dyke, moved to Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast decades ago to surf the Salsa Brava break. He went on to own the Hotel Puerto Viejo.
His brother, Peter, told The California Post on Thursday that the family was “just glad that it’s over,” but noted that the court cases are still to come.
