Students face death penalty for alleged machete murder

MIAMI - Five Jobs Corps students were indicted by a Miami grand jury on first degree murder charges for allegedly hacking to death a 17-year-old schoolmate with a machete, according to court documents.

The four men and one woman aged 18 to 23, who were enrolled in Homestead Job Corps, a federally run live-in school, could face the death penalty. They are accused of planning the murder of Jose Amaya Guardado over the course of two weeks, including digging his grave beforehand, according to videotaped confessions, prosecutors say.

The alleged ringleader, Kaheem Arbelo, 20, pleaded not guilty in state court prior to Wednesday's indictment. A trial is set for Oct 19.

Guardado was reported missing from the school south of Miami in late June. After days of searching, his brother found him in early July decomposing in a shallow grave in the woods near the campus, according to a police report.

A series of final, brutal attacks by Arbelo allegedly caused Guardado's face to cave in, the report said.

Arbelo then had sex with the female suspect, Desiray Strickland, in the woods after the group allegedly cleaned up the crime scene and buried the dead teen, it added.

After the arrests, federal authorities suspended classes and began reviewing the school's operating procedures.

The murder has also caused increased scrutiny of the U.S. Department of Labor program which operates 125 campuses nationwide. The schools help at-risk men and women ages of 16 and 24 earn high-school degrees, prepare for college, or follow one of more than 100 vocational programs.