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In June 2011, Camilo Salazar, a successful Miami businessman and father of two, vanished shortly after dropping off his newborn daughter at his wife’s office. His parked SUV was later found with the keys still inside, but Salazar was missing.
A day later, his body was discovered near the Florida Everglades bound, beaten, burned, and with his throat slashed. As per a Miami Herald report dated October 28, 2019, investigators linked his death to a murder-for-hire plot involving Manuel Marin, co-founder of Presidente Supermarkets, who allegedly orchestrated the crime after finding out about Salazar’s affair with his wife.
Authorities arrested former MMA fighters Ariel Gandulla and Alexis Vila Perdomo, along with Roberto Isaac, for their roles in the kidnapping and killing.
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According to a Local10.com report dated May 22, 2023, Marin was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. The case, featured in the Dateline episode The End of the Affair, which first aired on November 9, 2023, unravelled a disturbing sequence of betrayal, violence, and conspiracy that ultimately ended Camilo Salazar’s life.
5 shocking details about Camilo Salazar's murder explored
Camilo Salazar’s death in June 2011 exposed a murder-for-hire plot that took years to prosecute. The 43-year-old businessman, who vanished after dropping off his infant daughter, was later found dead in the Florida Everglades.
His story is featured in the Dateline episode The End of the Affair. Below are five critical details that emerged through trials, sentencing, and media coverage.
1) He was tortured, mutilated, and killed near the Everglades
Camilo Salazar was discovered deceased on June 2, 2011, just one day after he went missing. He had been beaten, his skull and jaw fractured, his throat slit, and his body partially burned. As per a Miami Herald report dated November 6, 2019, Miami-Dade Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Emma Lew testified,
“After Mr. Salazar sustained these wounds, blood drained down the windpipe into the lungs.....He could breathe into the lungs, but he wouldn’t be able to talk.”
According to a Court TV report dated May 22, 2023, Salazar was likely alive through much of the assault. Gasoline was poured on his genitals and ignited, one of the final injuries before death. The forensic team found white fly eggs in his neck wound, confirming the early presence of decomposition.
2) The motive was a secret affair
Investigators uncovered that Camilo Salazar had been involved in an extramarital affair with Jenny Marin, the wife of Manuel Marin, co-founder of Presidente Supermarkets.
The affair was kept discreet through burner phones and hotel meetups. As per an NBC Miami report dated May 22, 2023, Manuel Marin confronted his wife after discovering the relationship and soon after, Salazar went missing.
During the trial of Alexis Perdomo and Roberto Isaac, Jenny testified that her husband had a “crazed look” and was “kind of smiling and kind of serious” when he confronted her. This discovery was considered the key trigger for the murder-for-hire plan that followed.
3) Manuel Marin left the United States and was later apprehended in Spain
Following Salazar’s death, Marin vanished. According to a Local10.com report dated May 22, 2023, he was tracked through international communications and arrested in Spain in 2018 after seven years on the run. He was extradited and later convicted.
As per NBC Miami on May 22, 2023, Judge Miguel M. De La O, while sentencing Marin, stated,
“Although you are not convicted of murdering Camilo Salazar you are convicted of setting in motion the events which resulted in his death and of killing him and that too is part of your character.”
4) MMA fighters and gang members were recruited for the attack
Three men, namely, Ariel Gandulla, Alexis Vila Perdomo, and Roberto Isaac were identified as Marin’s collaborators. Perdomo and Isaac had backgrounds in wrestling and mixed martial arts.
As per the WTVJ report dated August 8, 2024, Perdomo was sentenced to 15 years for conspiracy, Isaac received life for his direct role, and Gandulla, who testified for the prosecution, received 36 months.
Prosecutors relied on cell phone metadata and Gandulla’s testimony to link the men to the crime. According to a Miami Herald report dated October 28, 2019, prosecutor Justin Funck told the jury,
“The cellphone evidence tells the whole story.”
Phone calls on the day of the murder tracked their movements to the crime scene.
5) The crime scene was a remote stretch near Miami, carefully chosen
Camilo Salazar’s body was located near the intersection of Okeechobee Road and Northwest 138th Avenue, a remote area distant from Miami’s city surroundings. The location was isolated and consistent with other illegal dumpsites. As per an NBC report dated November 9, 2023, journalist David Ovalle remarked during the episode,
“It’s not a place that you normally think of when you think of the glitz and glamour of Miami. It’s scary, it’s lonely. And that’s where a lot of people go to dump bodies.”
Detectives confirmed that Camilo Salazar was transferred between vehicles and ultimately brought to this area in Manuel Marin’s SUV, which had been lined with plastic. This final stage, based on Gandulla’s testimony, was where the torture and killing took place.
Stay tuned for more updates.
