3 bodies found in investigation of missing Choc family, Mobile County officials say

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Three bodies have been recovered that are believed to be those of the missing Choc family, Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch announced at a news conference Thursday morning.

Aurelia Choc Cac, 40, and her two children, Niurka Zuleta-Choc, 17, and Anthony Garcia Choc, 2, had been missing since January when they were last seen at their home in Theodore. The bodies were found in a lightly wooded area off Downing Road in Baldwin County, officials said.

Hector Gamaliel Argueta-Guerra, 27, has been in custody for weeks, having been charged with kidnapping in the family’s disappearance. Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood announced at news conference Thursday that he will upgrade those charges to capital murder.

“This is a horrific and gruesome murder,” he said. “The state will seek the death penalty in this case, the charges will be signed today, and we will move through the Alabama justice system.”

Mobile County Sheriff Burch did not mince words.

“He’s an evil person who will face his judgment soon,” he said.

Blackwood said forensic identification of the bodies will take some time, but he added there is sufficient evidence to lead authorities to conclude the bodies are those of the Choc family. Burch said he hopes to have preliminary autopsy results by the end of Thursday. Sheriff’s officials said investigators that along with the bodies, they found jewelry bearing the names of Aurelia Choc and her 2-year-old son.

Burch described the discovery of the bodies on Wednesday as a routine follow-up at a property associated with Argueta-Guerra. Cadaver dogs alerted on a spot, where all three bodies were buried. It is a wooded area east of Summerdale. Investigators continued to work the site on Thursday.

Burch said investigators remain in the dark about a possible motive.

“What motive would there be for killing a 2-year-old?” he said.

Burch said he would not speculate about whether Argueta-Guerra had accomplices or talk about the details of the evidence that investigators have gathered.

The sheriff said he has not tallied the man-hours devoted to the search for the missing family, but he said it has been extensive and has included help from federal agencies.

“I will say that all of the agencies have worked on this every day since that family went missing. … In a case like this, with a whole family missing, you never give up hope. But obviously, as each day passes, the outcome doesn’t seem like it’s gonna be good.”

Flanking Burch at the news conference were Baldwin County Sheriff Anthony Lowery and the local heads of two law enforcement agencies.

“It’s our coordinated boots-on-the-ground efforts, our traditional law enforcement capabilities that continue to uncover evidence in this case, and we will continue to work together,” said Sara Jones, the special agent in charge of the Mobile field office of the FBI. “Our work here is not done. We will continue and maintain our resolve to bring answers and justice to our community and to the Choc family.”

In addition to the capital murder charges, Argueta-Guerra faces three counts of abuse of a corpse and obstruction, related to allegations that he gave a false name, Juan Carlos Guerra. Investigators said he has a lengthy criminal past, including warrants in El Salvador for alleged gang activity, and that he is a member of the Sureños gang.

In 2015, he was the subject of an attempted aggravated homicide investigation as a juvenile. That same year, U.S. records show he was detained in Texas for being in the country illegally but was released after one month.

The reason why he avoided deportation remains unclear. Homeland Security Investigations officials have said he may have been granted Temporary Protected Status, which prevents deportation to countries that have experienced natural disasters or some other emergency.

PJ Lavoie, the special agent in charge of the Mobile office of HSI, said during Thursday’s news conference that there is no additional clarity on that issue.

Burch laid the blame on the administration of former President Joe Biden.

“We wouldn’t be here today if this defendant, who has an extensive violent criminal history, was not released under Biden’s administration,” he said.

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