Gunman who killed five had death cult shrine in bedroom and links to cartel
An elaborate shrine to a sinister death cult was found in the bedroom of suspected Texas mass shooter Francisco Oropesa, with candles still burning days after he allegedly killed five, authorities have said.
The shrine found in the master bedroom was made up of multiple statues and candles dedicated to various Santa Muerte cult saints.
The Santa Muerte (Saint of Death) cult has blossomed among the Mexican cartels and the wider criminal underworld. Adherents believe prayers and offerings will protect illegal business dealings and will hold off arrest.
The shrine found in Oropesa's house was covered in offerings from $2 bills and freshly cut flowers to what appeared to be offerings of drugs, law enforcement said.
Another of Oropesa's tattoos (FBIHouston/Twitter)
Oropesa's tattoo of the iconic 'Santa Muerta' skeleton with sickleThe Mexican national is accused of shooting five members of the same extended family, his neighbours, dead on April 29 following a dispute about noise.
Man in 30s dies after being stabbed in park sparking police probe
Oropesa was arrested at 6.30pm on Tuesday in Conroe in Montgomery County, Texas which borders San Jacinto County, where the shooting took place.
Divimara Lamar Nava, 53, wife of suspect Francisco Oropeza, was also in custody in connection with the Friday night shooting, according to Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson.
Nava had previously denied knowledge of Oropeza's whereabouts, Henderson said, but authorities believe she hid him in the home near Conroe where he was arrested Tuesday.
San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers oversaw the manhunt (AP)Lamar Nava was arrested early Wednesday and was being held in the Montgomery County jail on a felony charge of hindering the apprehension or prosecution of a known felon, according to online jail records. The records do not list a bond for her and indicate she was arrested by state police at a home in Conroe.
During the four day manhunt, FBI released pictures of one of Oropesa's tattoos which features a Santa Muerte figure, a skeletal figure holding a sickle.
Worship of Santa Muerta is not proof of a link to the cartels as many take on the symbols of the cult for social and cultural reasons.
But a cartel expert has said that it is a strong hint of links to criminality.
Retired Texas Department of Public Safety Captain Jaeson Jones told the Center for Immigration Studies: “Anyone who has a Santa Muerta shrine is linked to the criminal underworld.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re connected to the cartels, even though the cartels all over Mexico follow the cult. But you can at least link him to the criminal underground through Santa Muerta.”
The Texas shooting victims. From top right, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, Daniel Enrique Laso, 9, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, with son Daniel and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.Mr Jones worked for years gathering intelligence on Mexico’s drug cartels.
Russian model killed after calling Putin a 'psychopath' was strangled by her ex
Oropesa was found under a pile of clothes just 75 minutes after an FBI tip came in about his whereabouts. He was found less than 20 miles from where the shooting was carried out.
The shootings have been identified as Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, Daniel Enrique Laso, 9, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, with son Daniel and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.
Law enforcement officials working in the neighborhood Sunday (AP)San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers described Oropesa as a "coward" and said: "He is uninjured and he is currently being taken into my facility.
"He will live out his life behind bars for killing those five."
Oropesa is now being held on a $5million bond and is facing five counts of murder.
The Bureau had previously appealed for information about Oropesa's whereabouts and said there were "zero leads".
Sheriff Capers said that "somebody got a tip" that allowed law enforcement to close in.
He said: "It was a multi-jurisdictional operation, to say the least. DPS, CID, US Marshals, FBI. We had a tag team, and they all meandered over there and found out that that tip to be true."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
