Surf legend Kurt Van Dyke was murdered in Costa Rica by gal pal: Cops
· Toronto Sun
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The grisly murder of California surfing legend Kurt Van Dyke at his Costa Rican home had all the earmarks of a home invasion gone awry.
But further investigation by local cops unearthed something far more sinister.
The murder was allegedly a setup orchestrated by his former girlfriend and a male accomplice.
Cops say that on Feb. 14, Van Dyke, 66, was found dead under a bed in his home in Hone Creek, Cahuita, Talamanca on the Caribbean side of the Central American country. He had reportedly suffered stab wounds and had signs of asphyxiation, The Tico Times reported.
Girlfriend was restrained with zip-ties
When officers arrived, they found his 31-year-old girlfriend — identified only as Arroyo — restrained with zip ties. The murder sent seismic waves throughout the surfing world.
Now, Costa Rican detectives say evidence is pointing to Arroyo and multiple other suspects, including a 34-year-old man with the last name Gutiérrez. Cops raided three homes in pursuit of the killers.
Arroyo had told cops out of the starting gate that two armed male suspects were responsible. She was restrained and the thugs purloined valuables. Her car, a Hyundai Elantra, was also reportedly stolen. It was later recovered undamaged.
But investigators believe the real prize the killers were after was access codes for bank cards linked to the hotel Van Dyke operated. Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) alleges that Arroyo used her close relationship with Van Dyke to allow the attackers into the property.
Cops say girlfriend participated in murder
OIJ deputy director Vladimir Muñoz said: “It was established that a woman surnamed Arroyo, aged 31, who had a close relationship with the victim, participated.”
Now, cops say they are hunting two other men connected with the plot.
Van Dyke was a native of Santa Cruz, California and owned a hostel in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca. The victim was as close as one could get to royalty in the surfing world.
His father, Gene Van Dyke, pioneered the sport in Northern California in the 1950s. His mother, Betty, who died in 2021 at 88, was one of the first female competitive surfing champions in the world.
Van Dyke moved to Costa Rica in 1983 and was a prominent figure in the country’s tourism industry. His budget-friendly Puerto Viejo hotel had been popular with tourists for decades.
“My brother was a very benevolent, giving person who would help just about anybody,” his brother Peter Van Dyke told the San Francisco Chronicle. “Kurt would never hurt anybody, and he was always there when you needed him. Everyone that he met knew this about him.”
He added: “It’s a very sad time because of all the great memories we have growing up together, farming and surfing.”