Suspect in ‘horrific, gruesome’ murder of family in Alabama is Salvadoran gang member and had been deported, police say

The search for a family missing since January ended gruesomely after their remains were found in a wooded area, according to Alabama police.

A 40-year-old mother, along with her daughter and son, had not been seen at their home since Jan. 30, and they were reported missing a day later. They were identified as Aurelia Choc Cac, her 17-year-old daughter Niurka Zuleta Choc, and her 2-year-old son Anthony Garcia Choc.

‘We wouldn’t be standing here today if this defendant, who has an extensive violent criminal history, was not released under Biden’s administration in 2021.’

The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office reported signs of struggle at the house and identified 31-year-old Juan Carlos Argueta Guerra, whose real name was later determined to be Hector Gamaliel Argueta-Guerra, as a person of interest in a post on Facebook that same day.

Argueta-Guerra was arrested and charged with kidnapping in February.

On March 13, the sheriff’s office reported finding remains it believed to belong to the family in Summerdale in Baldwin County.

“This is a horrific, gruesome murder,” said Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood at a media briefing.

Police said Argueta-Guerra was a member of the Sureños gang in El Salvador with a lengthy criminal history. In 2016, a detention order for terrorism-related conduct with special aggravating factors was issued against him. Other terror-related filings were made in 2018 as well as 2024.

Despite that long record, Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said Argueta-Guerra had been deported once before and then released inside the U.S. under the Biden administration.

“We wouldn’t be standing here today if this defendant, who has an extensive violent criminal history, was not released under Biden’s administration in 2021,” Burch said.

Police said Argueta-Guerra had been charged with a slew of additional crimes, including:

• Three counts of kidnapping in the first degree;
• One count of capital murder under 14 years;
• One count of obstructing justice using a false identity;
• Three counts of abuse of a corpse;
• Three counts of capital murder/burglary;
• Three counts of capital murder/kidnapping; and
• One count of capital murder of two or more persons.

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Argueta-Guerra pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to appear in court in April. The district attorney said they will seek the death penalty.

“Hector, you are a sick person to do what you did to this family, and we know if convicted, you will never see the outside world again,” the sheriff’s office said.

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