Miss Honduras was fatally shot as she tried to escape her sister's jealous boyfriend, police and reports said, hours after the siblings were found dead beside a river.
Maria Jose Alvarado, 19, who had been due to fly to London to compete in the Miss World beauty pageant, disappeared with her sister Sofia Trinidad six days ago after a party, sparking an exhaustive search.
La Prensa newspaper reported that police were investigating whether Trinidad's boyfriend, Plutarco Ruiz, shot Trinidad in the head after he became jealous when he saw her dancing with another man. He then reportedly shot Alvarado twice in the back as she tried to flee.
Chief detective Leandro Osorio said the bodies of the beauty queen and her 23-year-old sister had been found buried along the banks of the Aguagual River in the town of Arada, in violence-plagued Honduras's northwest.
"We are 100 percent sure that it's them," Osorio said.
Police arrested Ruiz and his alleged accomplice on Tuesday, seizing a Colt-45 pistol and two vehicles.
Security Minister Arturo Corrales said there was "no doubt" that Ruiz was behind the crime and that he had been helped by another man, Aris Maldonado Mejia.
"We think that Plutarco led the crime, materially and intellectually," Corrales said.
Police are investigating additional suspects who they believe tried to help cover up the shooting, including by cleaning and repainting a pick-up used in the crime.
Organizers of the Miss World pageant, which begins Saturday, sent their condolences and announced a tribute this weekend in honor of the slain sisters.
"We are devastated by this terrible loss of two young women, who were so full of life," Julia Morley, the pageant's chairwoman, said in a statement.
"We will be holding a special service with all of the Miss World contestants on Sunday, where we will be honoring the lives of Maria Jose Alvarado and Sofia Trinidad, and say prayers for them and their family."
Miss World organizers said they also planned to donate money to a children's home in Honduras in the two women's memory.
Alvarado, who turned heads with her gleaming smile and wavy chestnut hair, was in her last year of university at the Northern Polytechnic Institute, where she studied computer science.
She had participated in beauty contests since she was a young girl.
She was also known in Honduras for her work as a model on popular TV game show "X-0."
Maria Jose Alvarado, 19, who had been due to fly to London to compete in the Miss World beauty pageant, disappeared with her sister Sofia Trinidad six days ago after a party, sparking an exhaustive search.
La Prensa newspaper reported that police were investigating whether Trinidad's boyfriend, Plutarco Ruiz, shot Trinidad in the head after he became jealous when he saw her dancing with another man. He then reportedly shot Alvarado twice in the back as she tried to flee.
Chief detective Leandro Osorio said the bodies of the beauty queen and her 23-year-old sister had been found buried along the banks of the Aguagual River in the town of Arada, in violence-plagued Honduras's northwest.
"We are 100 percent sure that it's them," Osorio said.
Police arrested Ruiz and his alleged accomplice on Tuesday, seizing a Colt-45 pistol and two vehicles.
Security Minister Arturo Corrales said there was "no doubt" that Ruiz was behind the crime and that he had been helped by another man, Aris Maldonado Mejia.
"We think that Plutarco led the crime, materially and intellectually," Corrales said.
Police are investigating additional suspects who they believe tried to help cover up the shooting, including by cleaning and repainting a pick-up used in the crime.
Organizers of the Miss World pageant, which begins Saturday, sent their condolences and announced a tribute this weekend in honor of the slain sisters.
"We are devastated by this terrible loss of two young women, who were so full of life," Julia Morley, the pageant's chairwoman, said in a statement.
"We will be holding a special service with all of the Miss World contestants on Sunday, where we will be honoring the lives of Maria Jose Alvarado and Sofia Trinidad, and say prayers for them and their family."
Miss World organizers said they also planned to donate money to a children's home in Honduras in the two women's memory.
Alvarado, who turned heads with her gleaming smile and wavy chestnut hair, was in her last year of university at the Northern Polytechnic Institute, where she studied computer science.
She had participated in beauty contests since she was a young girl.
She was also known in Honduras for her work as a model on popular TV game show "X-0."
