14 DAY TRIAL // The bodies found in Mexico are believed to be those of band members reported missing on Friday, January 25. The Kombo Kolombia Mexican band was last seen at a concert they held the day before.
The band last performed at La Carreta, a bar 30 miles (48 km) north of Monterrey, located on the highway. After not being able to contact them, their families became alarmed and alerted authorities.
One of the band members told police that the others had been kidnapped by a group of 10 men, while he managed to escape. The killers allegedly stormed the La Carreta bar while holding weapons, and shoved the gang into waiting vehicles.
The man described how they had been beaten by the kidnappers, who then proceeded to execute the musicians, one by one.
According to the Los Angeles Times, police discovered 18 bodies in a well in the neighboring town of Mina.
The remains of four men have been positively identified as belonging to members of the Kombo Kolombia band, while the other identifications remain unconfirmed. DNA analysis is being carried out by the local coroner's office in order to confirm the finds.
By noon on Monday, January 28, 8 bodies had been pulled out of the well, all dressed in outfits that resembled the Kombo Kolombia getups, while one of the men is believed to be a Colombian citizen.
Nuevo Leon state spokesman Jesus Valencia told reporters that they suspected an organized crime group, possibly dealing in drugs, in the kidnapping and execution case. The musicians had no known affiliation to local drug cartels, and were not popular on a national level in Mexico.
"We assume their killers are related to some kind of criminal group. [...] They could have played a song someone did not like or said something someone did not like. We don't know," he says.