A family that went missing in January has been found dead after their remains were discovered in a wooded area by Alabama police. The victims were identified as Aurelia Choc Cac, her 17-year-old daughter Niurka Zuleta Choc, and her two-year-old son Anthony Garcia Choc.
The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office reported signs of struggle at the home where the family had not been seen since January 30, when they were reported missing the following day. On March 13, remains believed to belong to the family were found in Summerdale, Baldwin County.
Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch identified 31-year-old Hector Gamaliel Argueta-Guerra as a person of interest. Argueta-Guerra, who was arrested and charged with kidnapping in February, is a member of the Sureños gang from El Salvador with a lengthy criminal history. In 2016, he received a detention order for terrorism-related conduct with special aggravating factors; additional terror-related filings were made in 2018 and 2024.
Burch stated that Argueta-Guerra had been deported once before but was released inside the U.S. under the Biden administration in 2021, saying: “We wouldn’t be standing here today if this defendant, who has an extensive violent criminal history, was not released under Biden’s administration in 2021.”
Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood described the case as a “horrific, gruesome murder” at a media briefing. Argueta-Guerra is scheduled to appear in court in April after pleading not guilty to charges including the murders. The district attorney has indicated they will seek the death penalty.
The sheriff’s office added: “Hector, you are a sick person to do what you did to this family, and we know if convicted, you will never see the outside world again.”
