A father's request for answers after the death of his son in Zacatecas 2:18
(CNN Spanish) --
The Gutiérrez Padilla family, residents of the US city of Hamilton, Ohio, distrusts the information that the authorities of the state of Zacatecas have given them so far about the death of their son in Mexico and demands more answers. explain how the event occurred.
José Melesio Gutiérrez Padilla, a Mexican-American citizen, was killed in December along with his girlfriend Daniela Márquez and two of her relatives while they were returning in the young woman's vehicle to Colotlán, Jalisco, where Daniela lived.
All four died riddled with bullets.
In statements to CNN, Enrique Gutiérrez, the young man's father, says that more than a month has passed and the preliminary data he has received leads him to have more questions than answers.
He has been informed, he maintains, that the car in which they were traveling received between 36 and 38 shots from the rear and that the bodies of the youths were found near the vehicle.
Gutiérrez affirms that he not only mistrusts this information, but also the justice that can be delivered.
CNN contacted the Zacatecas State Attorney General's Office to find out the progress of the investigations.
Manuel Soriano, an employee of that agency, reported twice that Attorney General Francisco José Murillo was not available for an interview.
Murillo sent by text the official communications that have been public since January.
Soriano said there was no other information at this time.
The statements do not refer to the details that concern Gutiérrez.
The case of the murder of these four young people has unleashed commotions and security demands among the residents of that state.
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Gutiérrez Padilla lived in the United States and had traveled to Mexico to visit his girlfriend.
The young women were residents of Colotlán, Jalisco, in the same area.
The alarms for his disappearance went off on December 25.
According to their relatives, the group had left Colotlán to walk through Jerez de García Salinas, Zacatecas.
Márquez's family expected them to return that afternoon to celebrate Christmas, but lost contact with them.
Hours passed and, when they did not arrive or receive a response to texts or phone calls, they reported the fact to the authorities.
It was then that the Zacatecas Investigation Police General Directorate began the search, which was joined by local residents, outraged by the insecurity.
On January 18, the Zacatecas Prosecutor's Office reported in a bulletin that on January 16 "National Guard personnel discovered two vehicles and a human body in skeletal reduction" in the community of El Cuidado, in that town. Continuing the search, they found a grave on the 17th and the three women were
there.The images of the vehicle disseminated by local media indicate that it had bullet marks.
On January 24, the Prosecutor's Office confirmed that one of the remains corresponded to Gutiérrez Padilla, 38, and that the others were those of the sisters Daniela Márquez Pichardo, 31, and Viviana Márquez Pichardo, 28, and their cousin. Irma Paola Vargas Montoya, 27 years old.
The search chapter ended, and the investigations chapter was opened to find out what happened before the meeting with his perpetrators and how this fateful outcome occurred.
Enrique Gutiérrez assures that there is information that the Zacatecas Prosecutor's Office has communicated to him that surprises him, such as that the authorities affirm that his son was driving the vehicle, although he says that his son always refused to drive in Mexico, and that he never saw him drive in that country because he did not know the rules of the road.
The Prosecutor's Office indicates in its latest statement that "the investigation regarding the events in which they were deprived of liberty and life is still open and in process, so the Attorney General's Office will continue with the collection and analysis of test data that lead to the clarification of the facts and the identification of the person or persons who have participated in its commission".
At the moment, there are no detainees and no suspects have been identified.
Zacatecas is on the list of places the US State Department advises its citizens not to travel to due to violent crime, extortion, and gang activity in that state.
The warning indicates that citizens and residents of the United States have been victims of kidnapping.
cut dreams
Enrique Gutiérrez remembers that his son came to the United States when he was 12 years old, and that since he was a child he set personal and professional goals, which he was achieving.
He was an architect, working and living in Hamilton, Ohio, and already had marriage plans.
She was the pride of his home.
He planned to take his partner to the United States and have his own family.
Gutiérrez adds that his son met Daniela four years ago when he went to a party in Mexico, and they began a long-distance relationship.
He traveled to the country of his birth two or three times a year, and in 2022 they went as a family to ask for Daniela's hand.
The couple had wedding plans for September or October of this year.
The family had planned to meet in Cancun and enjoy a vacation with the couple on December 28, but plans changed dramatically.
The last communication that the family had with José Melesio was on December 25, when he sent a text wishing them a Merry Christmas and three emojis with the symbol of hearts.
And then the trip to Mexico was to recognize the lifeless body of his son.
The parents and the six surviving siblings are going through a painful moment, says Gutiérrez, because they never imagined this ending for the son who only gave them satisfaction in his life.
The same feelings surround the loved ones of the three young women, who were veiled and buried in Colotlán, in the midst of a crowd that joined the family's grief and asked to bring the perpetrator or those responsible for these deaths to justice.
Daniela's parents are going through their worst nightmare.
On Christmas Day they had everything prepared for a night of joy for the wedding of the young people, but it turned into a painful search with a tragic end.
Although nothing will bring their son back, the Gutiérrez family wants justice done.
Now, they are waiting to finalize the consular process so that their remains can rest in peace in the United States.
Enrique Gutiérrez says that his last consolation is to think that his son and the three young women did not suffer and that they died instantly.
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