Casefile True Crime - Case 327: Rodrigo Rosenberg Marzano

Release Date: August 30, 2025
Host: Casefile Presents

OVERVIEW

This gripping episode of Casefile unpacks the extraordinary 2009 murder of Guatemalan attorney Rodrigo Rosenberg Marzano. A shocking "deathbed" video pointed the finger at the nation’s president and first lady, inciting nationwide turmoil and conspiracy theories. Through meticulous investigation, the episode revisits Guatemala’s tangled history of corruption and violence, the personal tragedies that led to Rosenberg’s actions, and the jaw-dropping twist at the center of the story: that the victim was, in fact, the orchestrator of his own assassination.

KEY DISCUSSION POINTS & INSIGHTS

1. Guatemalan Context: A Land Marked by Violence and Corruption

• [04:10-07:00]
  • Guatemala’s tragic modern history: US-backed coup in 1954, a brutal civil war, and postwar emergence of organized criminal syndicates infiltrating politics and law enforcement.
  • In 2009, Guatemala had one of the highest murder rates in the world (46 per 100,000 people), with a 98% impunity rate.
  • “In 2007, one United Nations official remarked, ‘Guatemala is a good place to commit a murder because you will almost certainly get away with it.’” (Host, 07:48)

2. Rodrigo Rosenberg’s Life and Trauma

• [11:00-15:00]
  • Rodrigo was born into Guatemala’s elite, well-educated, and successful.
  • Family tragedy: as a teen, his brother was kidnapped and murdered—a crime never solved.
  • Personal turmoil around the time of his death: two divorces, a recent custody battle, his mother’s death, and most crucially, the murder of his client and secret lover, Marjorie Musa, and her father Khalil Musa.

3. Threats and Murder: The Final Days of Rodrigo Rosenberg

• [01:14-11:00]
  • Beginning May 5, 2009, Rodrigo receives a series of anonymous threatening calls—he believes he is being surveilled.
  • Despite these threats, he makes plans for a bike ride on May 10. Minutes after receiving the final call, he is murdered in broad daylight, gunned down on the roadside.
  • “Sometimes the caller said nothing at all, they just left a heavy, drawn out silence before hanging up.” (Host, 03:00)

4. The Bombshell Video: Accusing the President

• [18:00-23:00]
  • At his funeral, Rosenberg’s friend Luis Mendezabel distributes DVDs. The video, recorded before his death, features Rosenberg saying:

    “Good afternoon, my name is Rodrigo Rosenberg Marzano and, unfortunately, if you are currently watching or listening to this message, it’s because I was murdered by President Álvaro Colom.” (Rodrigo Rosenberg, 18:44)

  • The video is broadcast on TV and uploaded to YouTube, quickly going viral and igniting mass protests.
  • Protest signs: “I am Rodrigo,” “We want justice,” “Rodrigo, thanks for waking us up.”

5. Political Upheaval and International Involvement

• [36:00-40:00]
  • Widespread protests, intense public outrage, and calls for President Colom’s resignation.
  • The US ambassador urges Guatemala to allow the UN-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) to investigate.

6. The Investigation: Untangling Fact from Fiction

• [43:00-1:02:00]
  • CICIG, led by Carlos Castresana, painstakingly reviews evidence (CCTV, phone records, witness interviews).
  • A professional hit squad, mostly composed of ex-police, is identified and arrested. They reveal an intermediary (Medina) commissioned the killing at the request of purported “powerful bosses.”
  • Tantalizing clue: the phone used to coordinate the hit and make threatening calls was purchased by Rodrigo’s trusted driver, Luis—at Rodrigo’s own instruction.

7. The Astonishing Twist: A Perfect Murder at His Own Request

• [1:08:00-1:18:00]
  • Rodrigo had asked his driver to buy burner phones, ostensibly for his protection, and instructed a friend to connect him with bodyguards—under the ruse of hiring protection, he hired a hit squad to kill himself, making it look like a political assassination.
  • Phone records, payment trail ($40,000 check), statements from friends and family all confirm his direct involvement.
  • “All of these actions suggested he was preparing to die rather than taking actions to prevent it.” (Host, 1:12:30)
  • The bodies behind the plot, unwitting accomplices, were as shocked as the public.

8. Motivations & Psychological State

• [1:18:00-1:20:00]
  • Stricken by immense grief, survivor’s guilt, and a sense of helplessness to effect change, Rosenberg engineered his own martyrdom in a desperate attempt at justice and national upheaval:

  “He decided to sacrifice his life in exchange for a change in the country. There can be no other explanation.” (Carlos Castresana, quoting the case findings, 1:20:30)

9. The Aftermath and Legacy

• [1:22:00—end]
  • Press conferences, public disbelief, but the evidence is compelling and the case is officially closed as a suicide-by-hitman.
  • No charges against the president or his allies; however, the Musa murders are ultimately connected to business disputes, not politics.
  • Reflection on legacy: the case marks a pivotal intersection of conspiracy theory, social media, and politics in Guatemala.

  “It served as a prototype for what a conspiracy theory could do when turned into entertainment and deployed on social media.” (Edgar Castillo, 1:29:30)

  • Family and public reaction: some see Rosenberg as a villain, some as a tragic, well-intentioned figure who used his own death as a catalyst for change.

NOTABLE QUOTES & MEMORABLE MOMENTS

• “[You] are wondering why someone like Rodrigo, who never harmed anyone, was murdered. Well, Rodrigo left me with the answer. If you want to know the truth about what happened to him, then here is his testimony.”
  — Luis Mendezabel at the funeral, introducing Rosenberg’s video. (17:20)

• “Good afternoon, my name is Rodrigo Rosenberg Marzano and, unfortunately, if you are currently watching or listening to this message, it’s because I was murdered by President Álvaro Colom.”
  — Rodrigo Rosenberg’s video (18:44)

• “It’s the same story we’ve been hearing and repeating in recent years… and ask Guatemalans continue to do nothing, because there’s nothing left to do, because we can’t do anything…”
  — Rodrigo Rosenberg (Video, 27:40)

• “We can’t allow Guatemala to keep falling into the hands of these people. It’s our country. It belongs to us, not to thieves, killers, and drug dealers.”
  — Rodrigo Rosenberg (Video, 28:14)

• “This is the most important case of this commission.”
  — Carlos Castresana (starting the investigation, 47:12)

• “He planned it all. Rosenberg felt guilty about the assassination of Margery Musa. He began a desperate search all over to find the Musa’s killers, but he found no proof. He decided to sacrifice his life in exchange for a change in the country. There can be no other explanation.”
  — Carlos Castresana, at the investigation’s conclusion (1:20:30)

• “What defined my father was his life, regardless of the circumstances under which it came to an end, whatever they were. In that realization lies our peace.”
  — Eduardo Rosenberg (postscript, 1:33:50)

TIMESTAMPS FOR IMPORTANT SEGMENTS

• [01:14] — Host’s content warning and episode opening
• [03:00] — The start of the threats against Rosenberg
• [11:20] — Background on Rosenberg's family, elite status, and brother’s murder
• [17:20] — Funeral and distribution of the DVD with Rosenberg’s recorded message
• [18:44] — Start of Rosenberg’s accusatory video
• [21:50] — Details about Khalil and Marjorie Musa’s murders
• [32:50] — Video’s viral spread and eruption of mass protests
• [36:00] — CICIG (UN Commission) takes over the investigation
• [44:30] — Investigators identify the Mazda and phone records; unraveling the hit squad
• [1:08:00] — Investigation’s dramatic twist: the victim orchestrated his own murder
• [1:18:00] — Psychological motives of Rosenberg and the final findings
• [1:22:00] — Press conferences and national reaction
• [1:28:00] — Reflection on conspiracy, social media, and legacy

EPISODE THEMES & ANALYSIS

• Violence and Impunity: Guatemala’s deep roots of lawlessness, where truth is elusive and the powerful evade justice.
• Martyrdom or Manipulation?: Rosenberg as both victim and architect—his death becomes a tool for attempted political upheaval.
• Social Media’s Power: The case demonstrated how viral content could whip up mass movements, spread misinformation, and have real consequences on a nation’s stability.
• Ethical Legacies: The complex legacy left by Rosenberg: a man simultaneously seeking justice and perpetrating a massive deception.

CONCLUSION

Case 327 exposes the heart of a national crisis, revealing how personal trauma, systemic corruption, and the virality of conspiracy theories can intersect in a single tragic event. The episode not only tells the story of one man’s murder but also offers a sobering reflection on the dangers—and power—of narratives in modern societies.