Two parents who had been living in Overland were found shot and bound in a sugarcane field in southern Guatemala, with their 14-month-old daughter discovered alive beside her mother's body, according to relatives and Guatemalan authorities. Family members in Missouri say the killings came after months of immigration trouble that included an ICE traffic stop near the couple's Overland home and an earlier deportation. Neighbors and friends in St. Louis are now organizing a candlelight vigil to support the surviving children and demand answers.
Bodies found in sugarcane field
Emergency crews discovered the bodies last Tuesday in a section of sugarcane near San Andrés Villa Seca in Retalhuleu, and relatives later identified the victims as 43-year-old Nixon Giovanni Pérez Paz and 25-year-old Glendy Marisol González de la Cruz. The Policía Nacional Civil reported that both showed signs of physical trauma and were found gagged, with their hands bound. Family members told reporters the couple had been reported missing the previous Monday, according to Prensa Libre.
Back in Overland: how they returned to Guatemala
Relatives in Overland say the couple's problems escalated after a traffic stop by U.S. immigration agents near their home in early March, and that Nixon had previously been deported in 2025. Overland Police Chief Andy Mackey told reporters that the Overland Police Department did not take part in that stop or in the detentions that followed, according to St. Louis Public Radio.
Brother's plea and vigil planned
“I felt that they took the thing I wanted most,” Rolando Pérez Paz told reporters, describing the shock of losing his brother and sister-in-law. He said he is now caring for the couple's three young daughters while the family scrambles to cope with the loss and the logistics. Community members in Overland are organizing a candlelight vigil at Overland City Hall on Sunday, Aug. 2, at 6 p.m., details reported by St. Louis Public Radio.
Guatemalan prosecutors open probe
Prosecutors and forensic teams in Guatemala have opened a criminal investigation to establish a motive and identify who carried out the killings. Authorities say the victims appear to have been shot and left in the fields, and that the couple's 14-month-old daughter showed signs of dehydration and was taken to a medical center for treatment, according to Infobae.
What investigators are looking at
The Ministerio Público and the Policía Nacional Civil are leading the on-the-ground investigation in Retalhuleu while relatives in Missouri wait, largely in the dark, for information to filter back from Guatemala. No arrests or charges have been announced, and officials say the case remains open, according to reporting by Prensa Libre.
