Arrests Made In Connection With Nearly 30-Year-Old Cold Case

Author: John Craven
Published On: Aug 16 2011 03:05:46 PM EDT  Updated On: Jun 24 2011 10:49:24 AM EDT
HUNTERDON COUNTY, N.J. -

Authorities say they finally know who killed a Cuban immigrant execution-style and dumped his body in a remote New Jersey creek 28 years ago.

Friday evening, the Hunterdon County prosecutor announced two arrests, and said U.S. Marshals are looking for one more suspect.

"I remember seeing the body laying there," said Ed Steible, whose family discovered the body in July 1983. "He laid there for hours."

It's an image Steible has never gotten out of his head.

"It's still something you think about all the time," he said.

In 1983, Ed and his wife were moving into their home near Little York, Hunterdon County, when their parents made a gruesome find.

"My father-in-law and father were walking around, and they happened to see a spot in the high weeds," said Steible. "And my dad said, 'There's a dead body laying here.'"

Since then, Ed has always wondered about Mario Soto, the Cuban immigrant whose murdered body ended up in front of his home.

"They said it was probably a hit job," he said. "They said the guy was shot a couple of times behind the back and ear."

Late Friday, prosecutors announced two arrests in the case. Jose Chaveco, 65, is now in the Hunterdon County Jail under $500,000 bond. Another suspect, Orlando Concepcion, 63, was arrested near Miami, Florida. He is being held there, awaiting extradition.

What prosecutors aren't saying, at least not yet, is what Ed really wants to know.

"Why here," he asked. "Why did it have to happen here?"

Prosecutors are not commenting on motive. The victim, Mario Soto, had no apparent connection to Hunterdon County. He was a building contractor in Union City, outside Manhattan.

U.S. Marshals are still looking for a third suspect. His name is Antonio Kessel.

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