A shooting in Mexico left four people dead — a rock musician, his pregnant wife, their three-year-old daughter and the young woman the couple employed as a nanny — and two men are now in custody over the killings. The four were found dead at an apartment in an upscale area on the outskirts of Mexico City on Tuesday, September 1, 2026.
The arrests came on Wednesday, September 2, in an operation that brought together prosecutors from the State of Mexico, the federal Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection and Mexico City’s Secretariat of Citizen Security, authorities said. Both men, according to the Office of the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection of Mexico, are suspected of taking part in a multiple homicide in Atizapán de Zaragoza, in the State of Mexico. The same office confirmed that Jonathan Meléndez, keyboardist for the well-known indie rock band Camilo Séptimo, was among those killed.
One of the men, an associate of Meléndez whom the prosecutor’s office has named only as Diego Sebastián “N,” is accused of being the probable perpetrator. Investigators are looking at the part the second man, identified as Gerardo “N,” is alleged to have played. Omar García Harfuch, who leads Mexico’s Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, said one of the suspects used his relationship with one of the victims to get inside the home.
What Officers Found in the Apartment
Officers in Atizapán de Zaragoza said the four bodies turned up at roughly 11:50 p.m. local time Tuesday inside an apartment tower in the Zona Esmeralda neighborhood of Greater Mexico City. According to reporting as of September 5, the killings took place in the family’s penthouse. Investigators believe the shootings came hours before the bodies were found, in a window between 5:30 p.m. and 7:40 p.m.
Gunmen shot three of those killed in the head, including the couple’s small daughter, officials said, while the fourth was hit in the back. The prosecutor’s office said two of the victims had their hands bound. The household’s dog was also killed, its legs tied.
A six-year-old boy — the couple’s other son — lived through the attack, and authorities said he was found at the scene physically unharmed.
Investigators at the State of Mexico Attorney General’s Office verified the circumstances of the deaths. Dying alongside Meléndez, 38, were his wife, Ana Paula, 35, four months into a pregnancy, and the couple’s three-year-old daughter. Another account puts the musician at 35, one of several differing reports of his age.
Four Victims and a Grieving Family
Relatives told reporters that the fourth person killed, Aleida Romero Victorio, 21, worked for the couple as their nanny.
“She was a very hardworking and responsible girl who did not deserve for this to be done to her,” said Lorena Victorio Cabrera, an aunt of the young woman.
Readers across Mexico have followed the case closely, drawn by who the victims were and by the setting as well. Police found the family dead inside their home in an apartment building in one of the wealthier corners of the metropolitan area.
Bandmates Mourn Their Keyboardist
On Instagram, Camilo Séptimo — a prominent name in the Mexican indie rock scene — posted its tribute to Meléndez: “With deep sorrow we bid farewell to our dear brother Jonathan Samuel Melendez Ochoa. To his wife Ana Paula and his daughter Sofia. They will live forever in our hearts. We celebrate your music, your life and your light. Rest in peace.” The post had drawn more than 280,000 likes and thousands of comments as of September 5.
Meléndez spent years contributing to the band’s recordings and its live shows. Among the photographs of him is one from a 2024 press conference at the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City.
Since the deaths were confirmed, tributes from fans and fellow musicians have filled social media. Many of them made the same point: an entire young family, along with an unborn child, had been erased in a single evening.
Where the Investigation Stands
At an initial hearing on Saturday, September 5, prosecutors laid out their case, telling the court that the two men believed the family kept millions of dollars in bitcoin. Three charges are being pursued by the State of Mexico Attorney General’s Office: multiple homicide, unlawful termination of a pregnancy, and cruelty to a sentient being over the killing of the family’s dog, a one-year-old golden retriever named Nala. According to prosecutors, Diego Sebastián “N” has confessed that he broke down the pistol used in the killings and threw it into a ravine; a silencer on the weapon explains why no gunfire reached neighbors. His driver in the investigation’s account, Gerardo “N,” took the pair in and out of the gated development and provided zip ties, gloves and face masks as the tools for the crime. The judge, after nearly nine hours, sent both men to pretrial detention at the Barrientos prison in Tlalnepantla.
Suspects in Mexican practice go by a first name and an initial until charges are formally filed, which is why the public knows the pair only as Diego Sebastián “N” and Gerardo “N.” On Wednesday, September 2, the state prosecutor’s announcement named the musician only by his initials, J.S.M.O., according to reporting as of September 5. Lawyers for the two men requested extra time to answer the accusations, so the hearing picks up again on Wednesday, September 9, when the judge decides whether to bind the pair over for trial.
Jurisdiction over the killings in Atizapán de Zaragoza rests with State of Mexico prosecutors, though federal security officials and Mexico City police joined in making the arrests. No one beyond Diego Sebastián “N” and Gerardo “N” has been charged in connection with the deaths, and investigators continue to examine the roles each is alleged to have played.
