Episode 76: The Disappearance of Rosita Camacho and the Murder of Rosa Delgado
On October 24th, 1997, four-year-old Rosa Camacho, nicknamed Rosita, and her mother, 21-year-old Rosa Delgado, left their home on foot in Hartford, Connecticut at about 5:00pm. They were headed to a nearby grocery store, JJ’s Groceries, to buy diapers and milk.
A witness saw Rosa’s former boyfriend and Rosita’s father, a man named Julio Camacho, talking to them on a street corner in the Parkville section of Hartford. Rosa then took Rosita to the store and they were last seen by the owner leaving the store, and this was the last time Rosa was seen alive and the last time Rosita was ever seen.
One month after their disappearance, in November of 1997, a woman’s body was found by two duck hunters floating in Columbia Lake in western New Jersey, about 180 miles from Hartford. This lake was easily accessed by the highway, making it a known location for dumping bodies. The body’s head and hands had been cut off and the woman was nicknamed “Lady of the Lake” due to authorities inability to identify her. Two years later, DNA evidence revealed that the woman was Rosa Delgado. The lake was searched for any sign of Rosita but nothing was found.
Julio Camacho, a police officer with the Hartford Police Department, was named the prime suspect. His car and home were searched and it was found that the liner inside of the trunk of his car was missing, and the bottom of the trunk had been sanded down. Inside his home authorities found two shot guns with the ends sawed off, a handmade hatchet and a wire garrote as well as books about serial killers and murder that provided details about how to hide a body.
Despite this, and the fact that Julio was charged with two brutal sex crimes and accused of five more, he was never charged with the murder of Rosa Delgado or the disappearance of Rosita Camacho due to lack of evidence.
To this day, Rosita's disappearance and her mother Rosa’s murder remains unsolved. Rosa’s missing remains have never been found and nothing has been found to indicate Rosita’s whereabouts. At the time of Rosita’s disappearance she was wearing a black jacket and blue pants and was 3’0, weighing 38 pounds. She is a Hispanic female with brown hair and brown eyes who spoke primarily Spanish. The FBI believes Rosita may have been brought to Puerto Rico.
Anyone with any information on this case is asked to please contact the Hartford Police Department at 860-527-6300.
Image sources:
int-missing.fandom.com - “Rosa Camacho”
courant.com - “Rosa Delgado, Rosita Camacho”