American Woman murdered in Volcan, Panama

American Expat Georgia Tripp Murdered in Volcan, Panama
Friday, March 15 2013 @ 11:32 AM EDT, Contributed by: Don Winner
By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Georgia Tripp, a 73 year old American woman who has been living in (or near) the Brisas del Norte development in the town of Volcán, district of Bugaba, province of Chiriqui in the Republic of Panama for approximately six years, was found murdered in her front yard at noon yesterday with a single stab wound to the back of her neck.
A neighbor, who was also Georgia's landlord and the owner and resident of an adjoining property, saw her lying face-up in the yard and he notified the police.
It is estimated the murder occurred at approximately 12:00 noon or 12:30 pm yesterday afternoon. The police, detectives, and representatives from the prosecutor's office of the Public Ministry were on the scene by 2:30 pm.
Georgia had a single stab (puncture) wound to the right side of the back of her neck. When the body was first discovered there was some speculation she might have also suffered some sort of blunt force trauma to the back of her head. However upon further examination of the body it turned out to be a pooling of blood that apparently came from the stab wound, and there was no indication of a blunt force trauma to the back of her head.
Police detectives discovered a knife under Georgia's right leg. She was laying face-up with her leg's crossed at the ankles. She was still wearing her glasses, although they were slightly out of place. There was also a drawer open in the kitchen where Georgia kept her kitchen knives, but so far it has not been confirmed that the murder weapon came from her kitchen, or if the knife found under her body was actually the weapon that caused the fatal wound.
Georgia was not a very rich person. She was not known to keep large amounts of cash money in her house, nor did she have much by the way of expensive jewelry or other types of valuables most often sought by thieves. The most valuable thing in the house was probably her laptop computer, and that was still in the house when the detectives arrived. So, at first blush, robbery does not seem to be the motive for this attack. Obviously, the authorities are still investigating.
Georgia did not have any steady domestic employees, such as a regular maid or gardener. She did have a couple of girls who would help her with the housework about once a week or so. There was one young boy who would help with yard work but she had not used him in the past six months or so.
Georgia did not have any family members living in Panama, and her son lives in California. A friend called him yesterday to notify him of what had happened.
Georgia was an active member of her community. She loved to dance. She participated in the Volcan Quilters organization. While the authorities continue to investigate this most recent attack against a member of the English speaking community of expatriates living in the Republic of Panama, please take this as one more reminder to improve and upgrade your personal security situation. Our heartfelt condolences go out to all of Georgia's friends and family members.

Copyright 2013 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source.