Authorities now believe an Alabama family missing for more than a month is dead after finding three bodies buried in a town about 50 miles away.
The bodies suspected to be Aurelia Choc Cac and her two children, Niurika Zuleta Choc and Anthony Garcia Choc, were found in Summerdale in Baldwin County the afternoon of Wednesday, March 11, the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office said in a Thursday, March 12, Facebook post.
The discovery comes after a man, Hector Gamaliel Argueta-Guerra, was arrested on three counts of kidnapping in connection with their disappearance, according to authorities, Us Weekly previously reported.
Aurelia, 40, Niurka, 17, and Anthony, 2, went missing from their home in Theodore on January 30, according to the sheriff’s office. Theodore is about a 50-mile drive west from Summerdale, where the bodies were located on March 11.
“Signs of a struggle” were found at their home, the sheriff’s office said in an earlier news release.
On March 12, the sheriff’s office announced Argueta-Guerra has been additionally charged with 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 people.
“Our prayers are with the family and friends of those who knew Aurelia, her daughter Niurka, and her two year old son, Anthony,” the sheriff’s office said. “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.”
Information on Argueta-Guerra’s legal representation was not immediately available.
Investigators are working to identify the bodies, according to authorities.
At a March 12 news conference, Paul Burch said the sizes of the bodies were “consistent” with the three Choc family members.
“This is a horrific and gruesome murder,” Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood said, before declaring, “The state will seek the death penalty in this case.”
A potential motive for the alleged murders was not specified by authorities.
When Burch was asked about a possible motive, he said “What motive would there be for killing a two-year-old?”
The FBI had previously offered a $15,000 reward for any information that might lead to the location of Aurelia and her children.
Argueta-Guerra is from El Salvador, where he allegedly has a violent criminal history, authorities previously said at a February 24 news conference, WKRG reported. He is an accused member of Los Surenos, a transnational gang with ties to El Salvador.
