Garden Grove couple reported missing in Mexico found dead; son-in-law arrested
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. - A Garden Grove couple who went missing while visiting Mexico last week has been found dead, according to the Attorney General of Baja California.
The couple’s son-in-law, who was identified as Santiago, has been arrested in connection to their deaths.
The cause of death has yet to be determined. A preliminary motive for the killings is believed to involve a money dispute.
Related: Garden Grove couple reported missing in Mexico
Maria Lopez, 65, and Jesus Guillen, 70, drove a pickup truck to Tijuana last Friday to collect rent from tenants at properties they owned in Mexico, according to the Garden Grove Police Department.
The two were expected to return that afternoon, police say when their daughter couldn’t get in touch with them she called authorities for help.
It appears their daughter was tracking the two through a "find my phone'' app on their iPhones. A location showed the couple was still at their property in Tijuana, but a relative there said they weren't around, Lt. Carl Whitney with the Garden Grove Police Department stated earlier this week.
Authorities then found their pickup truck near the property… but Lopez and Guillen were nowhere in sight.
Three additional bodies were located at the property. Local authorities on Jan. 21 held a news conference in which they said the bodies of two men and one woman had been found in addition to the Garden Grove couple, and were in the process of identifying them.
Santiago remains in police custody and faces murder charges.