Presidente Supermarkets part-owner, 3 others charged in murder of wife's lover

Manuel Marin, 64, believed to have fled to Spain

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A Presidente Supermarkets part-owner and three other men are charged in the 2011 murder of the lover of the grocery chain owner's wife.

The Miami Herald first reported that Manuel Marin, 64, fled the country shortly after the killing and is likely living in Spain, where he has relatives.

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According to an arrest warrant, the body of the victim, Camilo Salazar, 43, was found June 1, 2011, just west of a brush fire along a dirt road east of Okeechobee Road, near Northwest 137th Avenue.

Salazar's hands were bound behind his back and his body was partially burned.

A medical examiner later determined that Salazar had suffered multiple blunt force injuries to his head, a slit throat and burns to his groin area.

Salazar's wife, Daisy Lewis, reported Salazar missing the day after his body was found, the warrant stated. 

Detectives said Marin was upset because his wife, Jenny Marin, was having an affair with Salazar, who she previously dated. 

The warrant stated that Manuel Marin caught the two meeting up Feb. 4, 2011, at a café on Southwest 87th Avenue. He grabbed his wife's keys and cellphone and forced her into her car, the warrant stated.

Authorities said Jenny Marin tried getting out of the moving vehicle, so her husband pulled off to the side of the road and she climbed out of a window.

Authorities said Jenny Marin took a taxi to her friend's house and called Salazar.

Salazar told Jenny Marin that her husband confronted him in the parking lot, banged on his car window and told him to, "get out so they could settle it like men," the warrant stated.

Mixed martial artist Alexis Vila Perdomo, who once won a Bronze medal in wrestling for Cuba, former MMA fighter Ariel Gandulla and fight trainer and promoter Roberto Isaac are also charged with murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder and kidnapping. 

Detectives believe the three conspired with Manuel Marin to kill Salazar after the grocery store owner and his wife returned from a yacht trip to Bimini on June 1.

According to the warrant, Manuel Marin immediately met with one of his employees after getting off the yacht and returned to his Lighthouse Point home later that evening. 

Authorities said Jenny Marin tried calling Salazar, but he didn't answer.

Jenny Marin told detectives that she saw her husband leave their home three days later and she assumed he was going to work.

Authorities said Manuel Marin never returned home and his wife later discovered that his passport was missing.

According to the warrant, Manuel Marin's cellphone records show that he was in constant communication with his co-defendants the day Salazar was kidnapped.

Phone records also placed Isaac and Gandulla near the cell tower closest to the victim's home in Coconut Grove where he was taken, and Gandulla's fingerprint was found on Salazar's truck, authorities said.

Vila and Isaac were arrested last week and are being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Gandulla is believed to have fled the country like Manuel Marin. 

Authorities said Manuel Marin keeps in touch with his older children from an earlier marriage and sometimes sends them packages from Spain.

A Presidente Supermarkets spokeswoman said in a statement that Marin has not been involved in the company since his disappearance.  

"The Presidente family is shocked by the allegations against Mr. Marin," the statement read. "Mr. Marin was part owner of a few Presidente Supermarket stores originally opened in (the) 1990's and has not played a part in the growth of the company since 2002. 

"Mr. Marin was not the founder of Presidente Supermarkets, and has had no involvement whatsoever in the company since 2011. The Presidente family stands with the community and is hopeful of a quick and just resolution to these claims."

According to the Miami Herald, Manuel Marin's son runs some of the grocery stores. 


About the Author:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.