The Case of the Murky Truth

He said. She said.

    Seventeen-year-old Josephine Guzman, the beautiful daughter of the late Manuel Guzman and Josephine Vernaza, spent the summer of 1950 living with her sister Maria, brother-in-law Guillermo Rozo, and their two children in the fashionable community of Belle Haven, located in Fairfax County, Virginia. Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, she studied English at Wilson's Teachers' College in preparation for college in the fall.

    Guillermo Rozo was unemployed but had worked as a civil engineer for the Tropical Oil Company of Colombia. A member of the Colombian Embassy described the Guzman and Rozo families as "distinguished and well-off, but not wealthy" and stated that they had no official connection to the Colombian government. The Embassy mentioned that the family had been residing in Belle Haven for two months.

    On the evening of July 8, the family enjoyed a quiet Saturday at home watching television. However, a disagreement between the sisters interrupted what had otherwise been a peaceful night.

    A little later, the Rozos and Josephine found themselves in the emergency room at Alexander Hospital. Josephine was agitated and complained about having a headache. However, Guillermo believed the situation was far more serious and informed a nurse that Josephine had ingested poison. When questioned, Josephine told the police and hospital staff that she had not taken poison, asserting that the last thing she consumed was a soft drink.

    Erring on the side of caution, doctors ordered that Josephine's stomach be pumped. She was allowed to leave after an examination of the contents showed no abnormalities. When Miss Guzman was discharged, hospital staff noted her upbeat disposition. However, less than three hours later, she returned to the hospital, dead on arrival.

    The initial autopsy offered no answers. Nothing was found in her stomach, and no marks or signs of injury were present on her body. Following protocol, her stomach contents were sent to the State Lab in Richmond.

    Detective Sergeants Cecil Brown and J. J. Howard, assigned to the case, reported that the police found a box of ant powder in the kitchen cabinet and a spoon in the sink.

    To determine a motive, detectives questioned Mr. and Mrs. Guillermo Rozo. They described Josephine as a cheerful and well-adjusted teenager and expressed confusion over her motives for harming herself.

    The Virginia State Lab in Richmond discovered sodium fluoride in Josephine's stomach, which Dr. Sims stated was "similar" to the ant poison found in the kitchen.

    These are the undisputed facts. However, various accounts of that night were published in newspapers.

Version 1:

    The sisters' argument began while Rozo, Maria, Josephine, and Rozo's brother Jorge were watching TV, which prompted Josephine to leave the room. Later that night, Rozo drove Jorge back to the International Student House in Washington. Just before they left, Rozo noticed Josephine in the backyard, seemingly having moved past the earlier drama. Soon after arriving at Jorge's home, his wife called, urging him to return immediately; she had just discovered her sister Josephine unconscious on the bedroom floor.

    Rozos rushed his sister-in-law to Alexander Hospital, uncertain of what had occurred since he last saw her in the backyard. Before their arrival, Josephine had regained consciousness, and the hospital staff observed when they entered the emergency room that she was hysterical and clearly unwell.

    Rozos pulled a nurse aside and expressed his concern that she might have ingested poison. When confronted with this accusation, Josephine firmly denied taking anything. Nevertheless, the doctors opted to cleanse her stomach. She was cleared to leave after tests on her stomach contents revealed nothing abnormal.

    After bringing Josephine home, Guillermo and Maria helped her into bed and stayed by her side for three hours. When she began to vomit and fell very ill again, they quickly rushed her back to the hospital. Unfortunately, it was too late; she was pronounced dead on arrival at 4:40 a.m.

Version 2:

    According to the Rozos, the dark-haired beauty watched television with her sister and others on Saturday night. A minor argument broke out between the sisters, prompting Miss Guzman to head to the kitchen. Later, she became hysterical and was taken to Alexandria Hospital. Mr. Rozo informed a nurse that he suspected she had taken poison, leading doctors to order her stomach to be pumped. When confronted with this accusation, Josephine denied having ingested poison.

    After receiving treatment at the hospital, Josephina returned to her sister's and brother-in-law's home. Early Sunday, Mrs. Rozo reported that she found her sister lying unconscious on the bedroom floor. She was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital.

Version 3:

    The Rozos, Miss Guzman, and Mr. Rozo's brother, Jorge, were watching television at home on Saturday night when a minor argument broke out between the sisters. Miss Guzman went into the kitchen. Believing her feelings were hurt, Rozo followed her a few minutes later and found her "getting some fresh air" in the backyard.

    Guillermo Rozo left and drove his brother to the International Student House. Returning to Belle Haven, he learned Miss Guzman had fallen ill. He and his wife took her to the hospital, where he expressed his fears to a nurse that his sister-in-law had ingested poison. Josephine denied taking anything.

    Doctors pumped her stomach and, upon finding nothing suspicious, sent her home with the Rozos. At about 4 a.m., the Rozos noticed Miss Guzman was seized with a violent chill. When her condition worsened, they took her back to the hospital.

The Police Version:

     At 1:40 a.m., Police Officer Joseph Lavinus was summoned to Alexandria Hospital, where Miss Guzman "was having hysterics due to a quarrel with her sister-in-law." Upon arrival, a nurse informed him that Guillermo had expressed concern that his sister-in-law had consumed poison following the argument. However, when he questioned Josephine, "She said she had a cold and a slight headache; she denied taking anything to harm herself and insisted she had last consumed a soft drink," Officer Lavinus stated.

    According to Officer Lavinus, after Josephine's stomach was cleansed, she was allowed to leave after an examination revealed nothing unusual.

Coroner's Verdict:

     Coroner John Sims from Alexandria stated that the autopsy revealed no marks on the body or indications of violence. With the State Lab confirming the presence of sodium fluoride, he attributed the cause of death to Josephine Guzman taking her own life with ant poison. The body of Miss Josephine Guzman, 17, was sent to Bogota for burial.

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Note to reader: 

Josephine's sister's name, "Maria," is a pseudonym. The image of Josephine is a stock photo.

A Guillermo Rozzo, who was 28 years old in 1943 and born in Bogotá, Colombia, the brother of Domingo, completed a U.S. WWII Draft Card. Similar to his wife's first name, I lack sufficient supporting evidence to confirm whether this is the same Guillermo or to provide additional information about his service, if he served. 

Sodium Fluoride is a colorless or white, odorless crystal or powder. Its pesticide grade is dyed green or blue. It is used to fluoridate water, in chemical cleaning and electroplating, and as an insecticide. When ingested orally, it is said to leave a salty, soapy taste in the mouth.

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Next: The Case of the Perfect Father

Primary Sources:
The Washington Daily News, Jul 11, 1950, Page 13
The Morning News, Jul 11, 1950 ·Page 4
Richmond Times-Dispatch, Jul 11, 1950 ·Page 5
Ledger-Star, Jul 10, 1950 ·Page 20
The Roanoke Times, Jul 11, 1950 ·Page 2
Times Herald, Jul 11, 1950 ·Page 1
https://www.ecopetrol.com.co/wps/portal/Home/en/Ourcompany/about-us/Our%20History
https://www.nsc.org/getmedia/6c9b4f71-e6c1-4f24-9531-ae9ba100c8dc/chemical-exposure-staninger.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOoqnoYvdJbheXtZhfDlMpDSzUXyncDSA3k1tCuOB0b6HEBpnAGkD
https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/sources/GM6N-3LM