Family Begs For Answers About ‘Compassionate’ Couple Gunned Down By Armed Motorcyclists In Mexico

Two weeks after a Minnesota couple was fatally shot by a group of armed motorcyclists near a popular Mexican tourist destination, their family is begging for answers.

Miguel Angel Abrego Hurtado, 49, and Concepcion Leticia Carrillo Arellando, 48, were shot and killed by a group of armed gunmen in Puerto Escondido earlier this month, according to Mexican news network Milenio, Minneapolis television station KMSP reported. 

The couple’s family are demanding more information from Mexican authorities weeks after the pair of killings.

"My aunt and my uncle were very hard-working individuals,” Arellando's niece, Yazmin Carrillo, told KMSP. “They really tried to work as hard as they could to provide for their two kids."

Hurtado and Arrellando were fatally shot while riding in a pickup truck with Minnesota plates on April 7 during a family trip, the Twin Cities Pioneer Press also reported, citing Mexican outlet the Oaxaca Post. 

It’s unclear if any arrests have been made. However, earlier this month, Mexican prosecutors vowed to thoroughly investigate the American couple's vicious killings.

“[The Attorney General’s office] deployed its multidisciplinary staff at the scene of the events, while experts collect evidence that allows establishing a line of investigation to find those responsible for this crime and bring them to justice,” the Attorney General of the State of Oaxaca said in a statement  issued on Twitter on April 7.

A GoFundMe page has since been set up for Hurtado and Arellando’s family to help cover the expenses related to the transportation of the couple’s bodies back to Minnesota, as well as other costs associated related to their deaths. The campaign had raised nearly $43,000 as of Wednesday morning. 

"For reasons beyond our understanding, someone's senseless act ripped Miguel and Leticia away from this world,” the fundraiser page said. “It is not enough to say we are shocked and hurt. We are utterly devastated. This nightmare has become our new reality."

Loved ones described Hurtado and Arellando as "extremely compassionate" people who strove to "uplift those around them.”

During the pandemic, the couple — who contracted COVID-19 — later volunteered at a community vaccine clinic, KMSP reported. They were were known for throwing festive family barbecues, relatives said.

"They were a hardworking couple who radiated a joy that could light up any room and were always willing to lend a hand,” the fundraiser page stated.

The couple left behind a 21-year-old son and an 18-year-old daughter, relatives said.

“I would say that one of our priorities right now is to help find support for my cousins because they're just getting their life started. They're still young," Carrillo told KMSP. "They're still in school. And I can't imagine being in their shoes at this moment, navigating through life without their parents."

Hurtado and Arellando’s family were unavailable for comment on Wednesday when contacted by Oxygen.com.

City officials in Coons Rapids City, Minnesota offered their condolences earlier this month regarding the double murder. 

"What a heartbreaking situation for a Coon Rapids family at this time,” Coon Rapids City Councilmember Pablo Hernandez Jr. wrote on Facebook. “Please share and let’s try and rally for their children who are left to pick up the pieces and absorb such a blow with unexpected financial burden…May god rest their souls and watch over their children.”

Oaxaca is one of 14 Mexican states that the U.S. State Department has warned travelers to “exercise increased caution” when visiting due to crime concerns.