The owner of the sportsbook company 5Dimes was kidnapped on September 24, 2018, on his way home from work after having dropped off an employee in Granadilla, Curridabat, at about 10PM. Then he disappeared.

Not too many hours after Creighton’s kidnap, his wife began receiving ransom calls. The kidnappers demanded $5 million dollars. They wanted it paid in virtual currency, specifically in Bitcoin, to three specific “wallets”, or Bitcoin accounts. Creighton’s wife complied, ultimately paying $950,000, via five separate payments. Then the kidnappers stopped communicating entirely.
Almost one year after the kidnap, an anonymous tip led authorities to Cementerio Municipal de Quepos, where on September 5, 2019, the remains of Creighton were found badly decomposed, in a discreet, unmarked grave. The remains were found in a coffee-colored coffin, with a crucifix attached to the cover. The lid of the coffin had obviously been closed in great haste, trapping the victim’s left hand, and breaking two of his fingers. With no permission to bury a body in the cemetery, the murderers probably buried the victim at night, so as not to attract attention.

Creighton was dressed in black shorts and a red sports t-shirt. His hair was longish, and he had an almost full beard. Most of his fingernails were broken. At the exhumation, the OIJ (Organismo de Investigacion Judicial) forensic personnel estimated he had been dead for 6-8 months. Details of the cause and date of death will be included in the yet to be released autopsy report.
After an extensive search and review of the case by the OIJ, twelve people were arrested in this case, including the alleged person who ordered Creighton’s death, last name Morales, and his mother and girlfriend. They were arrested in Spain, and extradited back to Costa Rica for trial. Four people are being detained in Preventive Detention, while eight more remain free. No date has been set for trial as yet.

Reported an official of the OIJ Division of Kidnapping, “January 21 of this year the Unidad de Secuestros received an anonymous tip from someone claiming that Creighton was the victim of homicide ordered by Morales Vega, leader of the gang who kidnapped Creighton. He claimed that a third party had been hired by Morales to transport and bury the body in Quepos.” The cemetery in Quepos where Creighton’s remains were found, had been checked by authorities, but there were no signs of recent burials, and no applications for burial had been filed recently.

With the possibly guilty parties in custody and headed for trial later this year, questions still remain: Where was Creighton held those months in which he was missing? Why did the kidnappers suddenly stop communicating? What happened to the ransom money? Why was Creighton out without his bodyguard that night? What can be learned by other expats from this crime?
Kidnapping rates in Costa Rica were up in 2016, then back down in 2017, at the rate of about .2 kidnappings per 100,000 people. This rate is low when compared to other Central American countries, and especially when compared to kidnap rates in Mexico.
Most expats remember the mysterious kidnapping of Canadian Ryan Piercy for one month, with no persons or groups ever charged nor punished. It is hoped that the kidnappers of Creighton will be punished to the full extent of Costa Rican law

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