Costa del Este's skyline in September 2010. Archival location illustration for the PH Breeze crash case; the crash site is not identified in this photograph. Credit: 123Hollic / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0. CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo source.
A Panama court has issued a guilty verdict in the case arising from the 2018 PH Breeze parking-deck crash in Costa del Este, according to reports published October 27. Three people died when a vehicle fell from the building, and survivor Sabrina Murillo sustained a permanent spinal injury.
TVN reported that prosecutors announced the result after an oral trial concluded on October 27. La Prensa also reported the verdict.
The reports identify the builder and a resident engineer as responsible. However, the engineer's name, the precise legal identity of each convicted defendant and the sentencing details have not been verified against the current judgment. Those omissions prevent a complete account of the ruling.
What happened in the PH Breeze crash case
The vehicle fell from the parking area on March 28, 2018, in the Juan Díaz district of Panama City.
TVN identified those killed as Eduardo Murillo, his 17-year-old daughter Paola Murillo, and Abel Sandí, a 26-year-old friend of the family. Sabrina Murillo, who was 20 at the time, survived.
Prosecutors attributed criminal responsibility to a failure to meet structural-safety requirements during construction between 2008 and 2011, the reports said. The prosecution's case referred to Panama's REP-2004 structural-design rules and the duty of care in construction.
Survivor responds; sentence remains unclear
La Prensa reported that Sabrina Murillo welcomed the decision while saying the legal process was not over. Her response described the lasting losses and injuries rather than presenting the verdict as the end of the case.
The current reports do not provide the sentence or a verified response from the defense. An older prosecution notice referred to an engineer and the builder's legal representative, leaving a material question about how the latest reports describe the defendants.
The court record is needed to resolve that identity issue and establish the next procedural step.