Son-in-law of missing Garden Grove couple arrested after bodies believed to be theirs are found in Mexico

GARDEN GROVE — Mexican authorities are trying to confirm that two bodies unearthed at a small housing compound in Tijuana were those of a beloved Garden Grove couple reported missing just over a week ago.

The couple’s son-in-law, identified only as Santiago N, 37, is in custody and is expected to be charged with their disappearance at a state court hearing late Saturday, Jan. 18, said Deputy Baja California Attorney General Hiram Sanchez Zamora.

Sanchez Zamora said charges likely will include forcibly detaining someone, but he declined to get more specific on possible accusations.

Jesús Rubén López Guillén, 70, and his wife Maria Teresa Guillén, 65, of Garden Grove were reported missing by their daughter, Norma Lopez, after they went to Tijuana on Jan. 10 to collect rent money from their son-in-law but didn’t return.

Autopsies were underway Saturday to determine the exact cause of death, Sanchez Zamora said. The Guilléns’ daughter was being asked to view the bodies to confirm whether they were indeed her parents.

In Garden Grove, in front of the couple’s home, a neighbor described their joyous lives, filled with visiting grandchildren and hearty Christmas and Fourth of July celebrations.

“That’s what’s devastating; that was the center, right there,” said next-door neighbor, Andre Razi, 52,  pointing at the forest green-colored house, decorated with a ceramic nameplate bearing the name, “Lopez.”

Reported missing

Jesus Guillén is a legal U.S. resident, and Maria Guillén is a naturalized citizen. Authorities said Santiago was deported to Mexico in 2012 for theft, but his wife remained in the United States.

“We believe they are their bodies, be we still can’t make a positive identification,” Sanchez Zamora said in a phone interview. “Forensic work is underway, after which their daughter will identify them.”

Garden Grove police had opened up a missing person case after the Guilléns were reported missing. Garden Grove police Lt. Carl Whitney said their daughter had been tracking her parents though the Find My iPhone app, which last showed the couple at their property in the Colonia Obrero neighborhood south of downtown Tijuana, about four miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.

Then the phone went dead, and she could not track them anymore, Whitney said.

The pair drove their pickup truck to Mexico on the morning of Jan. 10 to collect rent for three small rental houses they own on a single parcel in Tijuana, Sanchez Zamora said.

Santiago, Norma Lopez’ husband, was the property manager for three houses and was expected to give the Guilléns 120,000 pesos – or about $6,425 – in rent collections from the past two years. Currently, Santiago was the sole occupant of the houses, Sanchez Zamora said.

When Mexican authorities questioned Santiago about what happened to his in-laws, he told them he had picked the couple up after they walked across the border, Sanchez Zamora said.

He claimed he took them to their houses and took them to the bank to exchange currency, then drove them back to the border.

However there were a “series of contradictions” in his stories, Sanchez Zamora said.

The Guilléns drove themselves to their houses, Sanchez Zamora said, not Santiago. Then, “they never left.”

Sanchez Zamora said it appears Santiago also tried to use the couple’s bank cards.

Investigators used “intelligence and technology” to track the Guilléns to their houses, he said, then used a cadaver dog to search for their bodies.

The dog pinpointed a spot inside one of the homes, and investigators started digging. They then found the two bodies buried in the dirt floor of one of the homes.

Do investigators believe Santiago may have killed the couple because he didn’t have the 120,000 pesos to give them?

“That’s one of the hypotheses,” Sanchez Zamora said. It is still under investigation if others were involved in the crime, authorities said.

While family members must make positive identification, the case is “90 percent” solved, Baja California Attorney General Guillermo Ruiz Hernández said during a press conference on Friday.

“We have been able to solve this painful case,” Hernandez said.

The family’s heart

The Garden Grove home of Jesús and Maria Guillén sat empty and quiet on Saturday. According to neighbors, that’s abnormal.

The house was the heart of their family’s activity. The Guilléns’ adult children and grandchildren would fill the one-story home every weekend. On weekdays, one of their grandchildren would be dropped off after school.

Razi’s wife grew up in the home next door alongside the Guilléns’ children. She is close friends with their daughter, Norma. Razi moved into the home after marrying his wife 16 years ago.

He spoke glowingly about the Guilléns and their family, recalling countless holiday celebrations, their home brimming with relatives and friends, food and drinks. On Christmases, Razi remembered the family practicing a traditional Mexican dance on their driveway.

On Fourth of July, Razi and his family would join the Guilléns in their tradition of mounting bicycles, skateboards and scooters, cruising around their block, waving an American flag.

And of course, there were the more mundane, day-to-day interactions. When Razi would return from work, he would see Jesús Guillén watering his lawn. Sometimes they would invite each over to share a beer and talk.

Six months ago, Razi, an air conditioning technician, was at their home to install a new air conditioner.

“You hungry Andre?” Razi recalled hearing Maria call out from their kitchen as he worked in their attic. She was preparing a home-cooked meal.

When his daughters were younger, they would go over to their backyard and play on their slide set with the Guilléns’ grandchildren.

“They can’t believe it,” Razi said of his teenage daughters. “They’re in shock.”

He shared in his daughter’s disbelief, struggling to make sense of the incident. He had just seen them last week, waving at the couple from his yard. Several days ago, the Guilléns’ children called Razi to watch over the house as they made their way to Mexico after the pair had gone missing.

“They’re 70 years old. Over money? To spend the rest of your life in prison. It’s not worth it. It doesn’t even make sense,” he said about the alleged robbery and killing. Razi had never met Santiago, the suspect in the case, but knows his in-laws were kind, generous people.

“I’m gonna’ miss ’em,” Razi said.

As Razi mowed his lawn, a sedan driving along the street came to halt in front of Jesús and Maria’s home. An elderly man and woman inside the car turned toward the house. The two bowed their heads, the man removed his cap, and the pair carried out the sign of the cross prayer.

Then they continued driving.

Whitney said Saturday morning that Garden Grove police will close their missing-persons case when they get confirmation on the couples’ identities. If they’re able to confirm that the bodies are the Guilléns, authorities will return them to family members, Sanchez Zamora said.

Staff writer Brian Rokos contributed to this report.