May 6, 2002 Colombian rebels indicted in 1999 killing of UCSC alumnus, two other Americans A Colombian rebel group and six of its members have been indicted in the 1999 kidnapping and murder of three Americans--including UCSC alumnus Terence Freitas. Terence Freitas had worked with the U'Wa tribe in Colombia for five years. The indictment alleges that leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia killed the Americans as part of a campaign against Americans suspected of helping the American military. The three Americans, however, were in Colombia to help the native U'Wa tribe. The rebel group claimed responsibility for the killings. Freitas, a Crown College biology and environmental studies major who graduated from UCSC in 1997, was working to preserve the culture of the U'Wa when he and two colleagues were kidnapped February 26, 1999. Their bodies were found just across the border in Venezuela a few days later. Freitas had worked with the tribe for five years. Freitas had been an active member of the UCSC community, including working with the campus rape-prevention program and teaching self-defense classes for women. In 2000, he became the first graduate to receive a posthumous Alumni Achievement Award. Crown College named its annual College Service Award after Freitas in 1999, and an endowment was established to support the research of undergraduate students in environmental studies. Related articles: Story in the Los Angeles Times Campus memorial for Terrence Freitas set for April 24 Endowment honors alumnus slain in South America Alumni Association names award winners for 1999 Campus message from Chancellor Greenwood: Alumnus murdered in South America Return to Front Page