A heartbreaking search for a missing Theodore family has reached a grim conclusion after investigators discovered their bodies buried in a shallow grave.
New details emerged during a preliminary hearing on April 17, painting a chilling picture of the final moments of 40-year-old Aurelia Choc Cac, her 17-year-old daughter Niurka, and her 2-year-old son Anthony.
The investigation began on January 31, when Aurelia’s coworkers arrived at the family’s home on Ben Hamilton Road to pick her up for work. After finding the house quiet, a neighbor entered through an unlocked window and discovered blood, prompting a call to the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office.
Inside the residence, deputies found blood on a couch, in a bedroom, and near a bathroom. While the teen’s purse—complete with her ID and cash—remained in the home, bedding was missing from one of the rooms. Crucially, there were no signs of forced entry.
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Prosecutors now believe the family was targeted because of a connection between the suspect and the teenage victim, Niurka. Testimony revealed that the defendant had previously visited the home of one of Niurka’s friends while dating that friend’s mother. Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood argued in court that the evidence points to a motive involving sexual deviancy.
“This is an absolutely horrific crime—an entire family snuffed out,” Blackwood told UTV44.
Investigators testified that Niurka was found beneath the other two victims, unclothed, with multiple stab wounds, the outlet reported. Authorities believe the mother and toddler were killed simply because they were present at the time.
The suspect was linked to the scene through a trail of digital and physical evidence. Surveillance footage showed a black work van traveling to and from the home multiple times on the night of the disappearance. Furthermore, cell tower data placed a phone—later found on the suspect during his arrest—at the victims’ home and at the remote Baldwin County site where the bodies were eventually recovered.
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The suspect, Hector Gamaliel Argueta-Guerra, was captured in Baldwin County following a vehicle and foot chase. According to testimony, he initially provided a false name and denied knowing the Choc family.
He now faces eight counts of capital murder, three counts of abuse of a corpse, and obstruction of justice charges. A judge has ruled that there is sufficient probable cause for the case to proceed to a grand jury.
“I think a jury is going to make of that what we argue and we are confident in the outcome,” Blackwood told reporters regarding the upcoming legal proceedings.
During the weeks when the family was still considered missing and the outcome was unknown, the FBI’s Mobile Field Office had joined the search, offering a reward of up to $15,000 for any information leading to their recovery.
That search transitioned into a homicide investigation once the family’s remains were located in a shallow grave in Baldwin County.
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