Suspect Arrested in Murder of American Couple in Bahia de Los Angeles, Baja California

Yaqui fro Borderland Beat from: SDUnionTrib

The double homicide last year rocked the tranquil community that is roughly 380 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border.

A man suspected of murdering two American retirees and their dog in a picturesque Baja California fishing village last year has finally been arrested, according to Mexican authorities.

Hector Daniel, 31, was arrested Dec. 12 just south of Ensenada, more than 300 miles away from Bahía de Los Angeles, where he allegedly killed Jo Anne Butler, 69, Rey Ball, 72, and Bart, the  couple’s black Labrador over a botched boat robbery on June 2, 2018.

You can find my original BB post on their murders HERE

The double homicide rocked the tranquil community that is roughly 380 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border. Bahía de Los Angeles, which is known mostly for fishing and tourism, has a year-round population of more than 1,000 and roughly 100 part-time American residents lured to the remote location by its natural beauty and world-class fishing. No one ever forgets their first view of the spectacular landscape with islands dotting the waters.

Mexican authorities described Daniel as the mastermind of the robbery and said there are still several suspects at large.

“There are more people under investigation who are implicated in this case,” said official Marco Antonio Lopez Valdez. “But the principal actor, the brains of the operation was the one arrested Thursday.”

Authorities believe the killings were over a boat. Specifically, a 22-foot McKee Craft with a Yamaha 250 outboard motor that the couple kept in their house and used for fishing trips.

One neighbor told The San Diego Union-Tribune last year that he was awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of gunfire. The neighbor looked outside and saw an SUV pulling a boat toward the water.

However, the boat became stuck in the sand and the thieves abandoned it. Then, the neighbor heard more gunfire.

Authorities found Butler and Ball’s bodies in their house near the back door. Initial reports said Ball had been shot nine times, Butler twice, and their dog once.

At the time, other neighbors told the Union-Tribune that the murders left the small community shaken. The couple's murder came only weeks after an elderly man, long time resident, was bludgeoned to death with a hammer. The motive is still unknown, nothing was stolen and no suspects are in custody in that case. Needless to say all residents part time expats and Mexicans were extremely upset by the events.

“We have no memory of having a shooting here,” said Tom Mitchell, a San Diego resident who has had a home in Bahía de los Angeles for four decades. “This has taken it to a level that no one here has experienced.”

Lopez Valdez did not provide any information about Daniel, including why he targeted the American couple’s boat or whether he has a criminal history.

However, he did say the arrest was the result of a long investigation that involved surveilling Daniel’s house in order to secure last week’s arrest.

Butler and Ball were not married but had been a couple for about 14 years. Butler was a former school teacher and an accomplished artist while Ball worked as a contractor and was a talented craftsman who built custom furniture, according to friends and neighbors.

Butler wrote in a blog for family and friends that Ball had first come to Bahía in the late 1980s “and fell in love with the beauty and the world-class fishing.” After visiting in 2003, she wrote that she had become equally captivated.