Four men arrested in slaying, beheading




Sep 22, 2007 - Page: 3B

ST. MARTINVILLE — St. Martin Parish authorities Thursday arrested four men accused of shooting to death and beheading a Mexican national who had been living in Lafayette.

Three of the alleged killers are illegal immigrants from Mexico and one lives in Youngsville, the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office said in a release issued Friday.

On Sept. 2. a fisherman in the Atchafalaya River found the decapitated body of 27-year-old Mario Lopez, the Sheriff’s Office said. Lopez had been shot several times. He was identified through fingerprints. Officials believe he was murdered on Aug. 31. The victim’s head has not been found.

The three men in the United States illegally were each booked with first-degree murder and second-degree kidnapping. They are Gustavo Acosta, 19, Julio Rodriguez, 22, and Jose Acosta, 34. They are being held without bond.

Youngsville resident Nelson Joseph Rivero, 41, was booked with one-count of accessory after the fact to first-degree murder and one-count second-degree kidnapping. Rivero’s bond has been set at $500,000.

The Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI Task Force assisted in the investigation.



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