Eleven MS-13 gang members were charged on Friday with the kidnappings and murders of two teenagers following the discovery of their bodies inside a park in Virginia last year.
Police dug up the remains of Edvin Escobar Mendez, 17, and Sergio Arita Triminio, 14, at Holmes Run Park in March 2017 after receiving a tip off about their whereabouts.
The gang members, aged between 20 and 27, are all in police custody, apart from one who is believed to have fled the country.
Police dug up the remains of Edvin Escobar Mendez, 17, (left) and Sergio Arita Triminio, 14, (right) at Holmes Run Park in March 2017 after receiving a tip off about their whereabouts. They are pictured in undated photos released by Fairfax County PD
Mendez vanished at the end of August 2016, and his family reported him missing on September 1.
Using information on Facebook, his brother was able to track down Triminio, who said Mendez had been ‘abducted or killed’ by MS-13 criminals who believed he was a spy for a rival gang.
Triminio himself disappeared two days later on September 27. His mother said he saw him putting out the trash, but he never returned.
According to a federal indictment, Triminio was killed because MS-13 members thought he had been helping police. He was on probation wearing an electronic tag, which stopped working the day he vanished.
In December, police received a tip off that both teenagers had been murdered and buried. Three months later, officers began searching the park, where their bodies were found.
The indictment said all the 11 gang members face life in prison if they are found guilty. The men were all illegal immigrants except for one, who had a green card.
Holmes Run Park, where the teenagers are buried, is pictured here in an undated general view
The men charged with conspiracy to kidnap are as follows: Elmer Zelaya Martinez, aka Killer, 27; Erick Palacios Ruiz aka Cara de Malo, 20; Ronald Herrera Contreras, aka Speedy, 20; Josue Vigil Mejia, aka Horror, 21; Henry Zelaya Martinez, aka Certero, 24; Oscar Contreras Aguilar, aka Atrevido, 20; Yonathan Melgar Martinez, aka Oso, 21; Anderson Villatoro, aka Enterrado, 21; Francisco Avila Avalos, aka Picador, 20; Fredys Baires Abarca, aka Lil Clandestino, 20.
Oscar Contreras Aguilar, aka Atrevido, 20, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to kidnap.