*NEW STORY CONTENT AND UPDATE BELOW - MAY 28, 2012*
Mérida, Yucatán --
Four men who were detained Friday (May 25) in connection with the brutal murder of a former Pennsylvania man remain in police custody here this weekend.
The arrested men are identified as Martín Alejandro Gómez Gómez, Gianni Lorenzo Matos Montalvo, Edward Jesús Gamboa Salas and David Pérez Wilfrido Morán (all in photo).
Authorities are searching for a fifth suspect, Angel Javier Segovia Domínguez.
Robert Leon Wickard, 67, was found dead in his two story residence just blocks southwest of the city's main plaza early Friday. His decaying corpse had been wrapped in a blanket and was buried in a shallow grave in an interior garden. Forensic experts believe he had been dead for about 15 days. The men were living in the house, gradually pawning off his possessions. The gruesome discovery was made by a police unit on patrol at 4:00 a.m.
The four men in detention have already given formal statements, called declarations, to state judicial investigators. They will be arraigned within the next few days. An arraignment is an early stage of the criminal process in which a defendant is formally notified of the charges against him. The court commonly takes a plea from the accused person at the same time. Bail is not available in homicide prosecutions in Mexico, so the men will remain in custody while their case is processed. There is no indication that they have attorneys.
Although prosecutors have not yet released forensic reports, the men allegedly confessed that Gómez Gómez and Segovia Domínguez stabbed Wickard repeatedly. He was buried soon after, and the men began dividing up and selling or pawning his personal property. When the police chanced by early Friday morning, the men were carrying a television set out the front door. They were in a fierce and loud argument about Wickard's possessions, police said, and some of them appeared heavily intoxicated. They had called a taxi, which was waiting for them when police arrived. The driver was detained but later released.
Wickard's family members told MGRR yesterday that he had lived in Arizona for 27 years. They last saw him at Thanksgiving, when he returned to Pennsylvania for a few days.
State judicial authorities and the regional office of Mexico's federal immigration agency, INM, are attempting to contact Wickard's next of kin in the U.S. to make arrangements for his repatriation. His body remains under forensic services jurisdiction in Mérida.
NEW STORY CONTENT - May 28, 2012
MGRR today received an Anonymous Comment, with a link regarding the victim in this case, Robert Leon Wickard. Here is the Comment:
"Not that this is proof of anything, but it may interest you that I found this as well as a number of similar postings on other sites going as far back as 2009. Here is the link: http://arizona.mundoanuncio-usa.com/i-want-a-nice-young-boy-who-speaks-english-while-i-am-in-shanghia-phoenix-iid-312790857."
The same comment also alleges that Wickard "recently twice visited Shanghai."
MGRR cannot prove the accuracy or authenticity of this information. While it appears to be legitimate, it is beyond absolute verification. Mr. Wickard's family reported to MGRR (May 26) that he lived in Arizona for 27 years, and still has substantial connections there. The link is to a Phoenix classified ad service.
Readers will note that the alleged posting by Mr. Wickard carries the date of Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012. While it is relatively easy to open a simple classified account using someone else's name, or a pseudonym, it is virtually impossible to manipulate the date of an event on any website unless the user is sophisticated enough to completely hack into the site. The latter requires a great deal of technical skill, and usually a substantial amount of luck. The fact that this ad was purportedly placed more than three months before Mr. Wickard's death, without any obvious motive or apparent purpose to falsify, suggests its legitimacy.
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Mérida: tras la pista del asesino material de un extranjero gay: http://sipse.com/noticias/159023-merida-tras-pista-asesino-material-extranjero-.html .
Detienen a homicidas: http://www.poresto.net/ver_nota.php?zona=yucatan&idSeccion=6&idTitulo=168911.
