Several of them, however, claimed they were not guilty of Kilroy's murder and told the press they were tortured to confess. Fenley showed journalist Derick Garcia some of the original posters that asked for information on Mark Kilroys disappearance. [99][5] De Len later confessed that Constanzo had lost his mind and was saying that "everything was lost" and that "no one was going to have [his] money" when the police raid forced him to barricade himself in his apartment. They were sent to jail while the police interrogated another caretaker at the ranch. Aldrete denied participation in the killings and stated that she was unaware of them until she saw the victims on national television. The full extent of the torture that Mark Kilroy suffered before his death may never be known for sure. What a horrible way to die. He said that he had never dug up the bodies and had been taken to the ranch after the bodies were already exhumed. [12] About twelve hours after Kilroy was kidnapped, Constanzo and his men came to see him. [4][53], Hernndez Garca said that Constanzo had ordered his men to find a white, Anglo male (Spanish: gringo) to sacrifice. Mexican federales manning a drug interdiction checkpoint saw a vehicle run the roadblock without stopping. They believed human sacrifices would make them invisible to police while running drugs. When asked if he had ever met Constanzo, he stated that he had seen him in person at the ranch with the Hernndezes but never talked to him. [o][83], U.S. and Mexican law enforcement agencies carried out an international manhunt to locate Constanzo and the rest of his cult members. According to Sara Aldrete's autobiography, Orea Ochoa was injected with the virus while in prison and told her that he did not have HIV/AIDS prior to that. A wire was inserted in his spinal column so that, once the body had decomposed, the bones could be pulled up from the soil easily. [3], That night, Matamoros was flooded with 15,000 spring tourists from the U.S. on the city's main tourist street, lvaro Obregn. [99][29], De Len hesitated at the beginning, but Constanzo hit him in the face and told him that he would suffer in hell if he did not do as he commanded. Living in the same state well into college, all four remained close. Later that evening, they met a group of female students from Purdue University and partied until the next morning. On March 14, 1989, he vanished while bar hopping with friends in. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. [12][13] His reputation for predicting the future and offering ritual cleansing became popular with some drug dealers, musicians, and police officers. In 1993, the cult members were found guilty of a number of charges, including capital murder and drug trafficking. An average of 550 youth participate in these programs every summer. The pot of brains, wood, and human hair was a nganga or, blood cauldron of palo mayombe, an African voodoo cult. Businessmen and cartel members paid him for palo mayombe sacrifices, which supposedly protected them from spirits and nurtured their careers. His name is also spelled as Mario Fabio Ponce Torres by other sources. [72] Other writers, however, stated that Constanzo believed in Kadiempembe, the devil in Palo Mayombe. Constanzo, of Miami, Florida, was raised practicing witchcraft, and began profiting from it after emigrating to Mexico City. Police said the victims were killed by drug smugglers seeking demonic protection . It is understandable why Ryan Fenley hasnt moved on from the death of his friend. They thought that Kilroy probably left for the hotel with someone else. [47][48], Instead of turning on their police sirens and stopping the truck, the police decided to follow it using an unmarked vehicle. After parking in the border town of Brownsville, Texas, the group crossed into Matamoros on foot. We had warned ourselves about this many times and still didn't believe it. Upon graduation in 1986, he attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, before transferring to Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, on a basketball scholarship. The officers decided to make their move on the ranch. Kilroy lagged a bit behind with a friend who ducked into an alley to relieve himself. Check out these great suggestions. Once the event was over that afternoon, Kilroy headed to the hotel for a quick nap before planning their trip to Mexico. After about 30 minutes, the driver of the truck took off from the ranch and headed back to the city. His remains were discovered the next month on a ranch along with other victims. How Sarah Rector Became The 'Richest Black Girl In America' In The Early 20th Century, Who Was Ted Bundy? [24][25], The ranch where Kilroy was murdered in Matamoros, Santa Elena, was owned by Brigido Hernndez. At Tarleton he became a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. [n][73], On 12 April, the detainees were taken to the headquarters of the Mexican Federal Judicial Police in Matamoros for an informal press conference. [107], On 27 August 1989, Orea Ochoa was admitted to a hospital in Santa Martha Acatitla[es] after being diagnosed with AIDS. [21], The key break in the case came on 1 April 1989. The killing brought to light the Narcosatanicos. Aldrete claimed she was beaten so severely that doctors told her she would never be able to have children. Investigators believed that her proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border allowed Aldrete to keep her two lives separate for years. [7][133] For the most part, the U.S. media labeled the group as Satanist and gave little mention to the drug-related violence that was widespread in northern Mexico, thus failing to provide a wider picture of what happened at Matamoros. Serafin Hernandez Garcia, a nephew of the cruel and clever gangster boss Elio Hernandez Rivera, ran a routine roadblock on. On 14 March 1989, University of Texas at Austin student Mark James Kilroy was kidnapped in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, while vacationing during spring break. They told the politicians that for every drug consumer, there is a victim who suffers from their addiction. Mark Kilroy Disappears From The Streets Of A Mexican Border Town As it turned out, one person thought they remembered seeing Mark Kilroy talking to a Mexican man who motioned him toward his truck. They wrapped his face and mouth with duct tape and walked him through a field to a storage cabin with his hands still tied around his back. [114] On 3 May 1994, Aldrete was sentenced to 62 years in prison. The four suspects were paraded from the building's balcony and were allowed to answer questions from reporters. [12] Other Afro-Cuban scholars, on the other hand, alleged that Constanzo murdered Kilroy because he truly believed it was a requirement in his distorted view of Palo Mayombe. In March 1989, he . Orea Ochoa confessed to the press that Constanzo had ordered the killing of infants and children since 1983. [120] The following year, Aldrete interviewed with the press again and stated that she had been tortured to confess. [p][85] A convenience store clerk in Clovis, New Mexico, called the police and told them that he had seen a couple matching the description of Constanzo and Aldrete stopping at his store to purchase something. Serafn also stated that he had never met Constanzo and had no idea his family ranch was a gathering place for his cult. [74] More than 250 international journalists arrived at the scene to take pictures and ask them questions. [5] He also was introduced to Santera when he was younger. Elio was sent to a prison in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas. [66] The cult members then dug a hole on the grounds and buried Kilroy's corpse. [12] Under hypnosis, Moore stated that he saw a young Hispanic man wearing a blue plaid shirt and with a visible scar across his face talking to Kilroy before he disappeared. [3][4] The marks were given to selected cult members with the authority to perform human sacrifice. [129][130] Since 1994, the foundation has sponsored and worked alongside Substance Abuse Free Environment (SAFE), a non-profit community group that promotes awareness for substance abuse and drug prevention. Some of her former classmates found it suspicious that she drove a 1989 vehicle with an embedded telephone, while others recall she preferred to dress in black. [88] In the Cameron County sheriff's office, authorities released a wanted poster of Constanzo stating that he was "extremely dangerous",[89] and indicted him and Aldrete for aggravated kidnapping. Martnez Salinas said he was arrested one afternoon at Elio's in-law's house when he was looking for a part for his car. Constanzo, Aldrete and the rest of the cult went on the run when detectives discovered their 'shrine'. [124] She claimed that Constanzo and the rest of the group were unaware of the killings that occurred in Matamoros until they found out that the police were looking for them, but went into hiding nonetheless because they feared for their lives. [98] After consulting local witchcraft practitioners and sorcerers, the police heard that Constanzo was probably hiding in Cuauhtmoc, one of the city's boroughs. After about 45 minutes, and worried of his imminent capture, Constanzo ordered De Len to kill him and Quintana Rodrguez. [21] Texan officials told Kilroy's parents that they were planning to talk to Tamaulipas Governor Amrico Villarreal Guerra[es] and get people from Matamoros more involved in their son's disappearance. [52] "Yeah", the caretaker told the police. "Look at what happened to Natalie Holloway. By the end of the week, the police concluded that the man was De Len and that he was buying groceries for Constanzo. They met with Attorney General Jim Mattox, Texas Governor William Clements, and U.S. They partied without a problem until 2:30 a.m. when they returned to their hotel on U.S. soil. [3], Throughout the night of the 15th, Constanza tortured and sodomized Kilroy. [42] U.S. authorities had praised the efforts of the Mexican federal police on the case, but they distrusted the state and municipal officials. His father died when he was an infant, so his mother relocated to Puerto Rico with him, where she remarried. Flickr/Lisandro SanchezThe streets of Matamoros, Mexico at dusk. HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) March 14, 2023, marks 34 years since the kidnapping and killing of University of Texas at Austin student Mark Kilroy in Matamoros, Mexico. He said he grew up in Houston and moved to Brownsville for college, and that he was in Matamoros visiting his family when he was taken by the police. Investigators then hired a hypnotist to see if he could figure out some additional clues. [f][3], The search for Kilroy initially began as a routine missing persons investigation. Elio Hernndez Rivera stated that he was an ordained executioner under Constanzo and that Constanzo himself had murdered Kilroy. "I can't tell you to this day what made me change my mind," Fenley said. [140] Helen Kilroy died in 2014 from ALS, aged 70.[141][142]. Early in the evening, Kilroy met with one of his former frat brothers at a condo party. [5][6] She introduced him to Palo Mayombe, an Afro-Caribbean religion that involves animal sacrifice. He had been walking with the others toward a bridge that crosses the Rio Grande into the Mexican revelry district of Matamoros. [3][37] His friends did not find him near their car and waited a few minutes in Brownsville before returning to South Padre Island. Constanzo believed that by sacrificing his victims, those doing the sacrifice were ensured strength, abundance, and immunity from law enforcement and injury. He then waited for Huddleston to walk towards him. The next evening began similarly, but ended on an ominous note. He said she had talked about her school and marriage. [5] This prompted the police to question people in Mexico City's homosexual community to see if they had any leads on Constanzo's whereabouts. Ponce Torres was once pulled over by sheriff deputies in Brownsville who were investigating a house. Some journalists made the error of attributing cannibalism with the common mistake of satanist groups sacrificing and eating human remains. Another source stated that they arrived to South Padre Island, Texas on 11 May. Federal charges were filed against him for importing marijuana, possession, and conspiracy. Brutalized because cult leader and cartel drug runner, Adolfo Constanzo, believed sacrificing a smart, anglo spring breaker would make them immune to law enforcement and bulletproof. Bettmann/Getty ImagesThe cauldron containing Kilroys brains. Some, including Kilroy, had their hearts torn out. Bettmann/Getty ImagesThe graves containing the mutilated remains of 15 people. [3][36] His friends searched for him for hours, even after the establishments had closed and the streets had cleared at around 4:30a.m. CT. However, Kilroy's parents stated that the yearly expenses exceeded $160,000 and that they would need to find new ways to make up the deficit. The remains of Kilroy and several others were found on a ranch near Matamoros. The Mark Kilroy Foundation was one of the five non-profit organizations in Galveston County that receives proceeds from a bingo place in La Marque, Texas. His name had not yet been shared with them by Mexican authorities. [3][4] He was in the Boy Scouts of America and an honors student at Santa Fe High School, where he was a member of the student council, and was ranked 14th in a class of 210 students. As the cameras zoomed in on the suspects, Hernndez Rivera showed his membership scars on his shoulders, back, arms, and chest. In Texas, many universities celebrate Spring Break at the same time, a tradition known as "Texas Week". Only two suspects remain at large. [35] At St. Luke Catholic Church in Brownsville, over 1,200 people attended a memorial service to support Kilroy's parents. [3][46], When the excavation was concluded, the suspects had unearthed 15 mutilated bodies including Kilroy's, all males who had been killed over a period of nine months. [l][69] Kilroy's corpse was officially identified after the Brownsville police matched his dental records with the teeth found at the scene. Mark Kilroy was a 21-year-old University of Texas student when he and his friends booked a hotel on South Padre Island.

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