The Tribune

By CELESTE NIXON

Tribune Staff Reporter

cnixon@tribunemedia.net

FLORIDA police believe a man they want to question in connection with the murder of a 17-year-old girl is hiding in the Bahamas.

However, their efforts to detain Almanto Coakley have been hampered by the Bahamas’ difficult extradition process, according to a report in the Florida Sun Sentinel.

This month marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Marissa Karp who was murdered in 2002.

Coakley, 38, a Bahamian thought to be living in this country, is wanted for questioning not only in connection with Karp’s killing, but also with reference to another murder case.

Coakley has been named as one of two men wanted in connection with a South Florida shooting that left two men dead and one man paralysed, the report says.

“It’s vital to get them in custody so that justice can finally be served and further information regarding Marissa Karp’s murder can be revealed,” said Sunrise police Detective Sean Visners, according to the Sun Sentinel.

“Arresting the pair could lead to answers in Karp’s killing, because investigators have found commonalities between Karp’s murder and the Sunrise slayings,” it said.

While Sunrise police did not go into detail about the extradition process, they said there have been a number of obstacles. “It would be easier to get them in custody if they left the Bahamas — due to the legalities with extraditing a Bahamian national from the Bahamas,” Visners is quoted as saying.

It has been reported that the teenage victim was in a relationship was Coakley when she was shot to death, four months after she ran away from foster care in 2002.

Karp’s body was found in Collier County in a canal off Interstate 75 on August 19, 2002.