July 15 marks four years since the brutal death of Bakersfield businessman José Arredondo in Cabo San Lucas. It’s a day his sister, Laura Arredondo says she dreads every year.
“It’s not a good feeling. And believe it or not, I’m very positive and I always try to see the best in life, but for some reason that day is so hard for me,” said Laura Arredondo.
Her brother was 60 years old when he was severely beaten, tortured and killed that day.
José Arredondo’s body was found the next door on the floor in his condo at Gardenia complex. Autopsy photographs reveal he had been tortured and met a violent death, including a mutilated right ear and a fingernail pulled from its nail bed.
Two weeks later the State Attorney General’s office in Baja California Sur announced a suspect was in custody. The accused was Roberto González, a longtime friend and golfing partner of José Arredondo.
González spent 14 months in jail before the state’s case unraveled. A judge ruled all evidence gathered by police was obtained illicitly and or improperly. There were serious flaws in how police collected and stored blood stains allegedly found in Gonzalez’s vehicle that matched the murder victim.
Ultimately, the State Attorney General’s office of Baja California Sur conceded it had no sufficient evidence and released González in September 2020. Since then, Arredondo’s siblings have not been told anything about the case.
July, for reasons both hopeful and tragic, is Jose Arredondo Month for his family on this 2-year anniversary
“What’s being hidden? What’s being covered?” said Angel Arredondo, nephew of the murder victim. “Why is that information being blocked? That would be my first question. Why is it being blocked? That makes me leery and very angry.”
José Arredondo was a US citizen. But neither the FBI nor the U.S. State Department will confirm the case is under investigation. FBI spokesperson Gina Swankie said the FBI could not comment on the case at this time.
The State Department replied in an email: “We can confirm the death of a U.S. citizen in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss. We have provided all appropriate consular assistance to the family. For information related to the investigation, we refer you to the local Mexican authorities. Out of respect for the privacy of the family, we have no further comment at this time.”
Though the crime happened in Mexico, Angel Arredondo believes authorities need to look elsewhere to solve his uncle’s murder. “I think we’re looking in the wrong place, I think Mexico is not the answer, I think the answer is here, I think the answer is here,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment