In Memoriam: 14 Americans, Legal Immigrants Among Those Allegedly Killed by Illegal Aliens in 2023

Every year, an estimated 2,000 Americans are killed by illegal aliens. In 2023, Breitbart News reported on several cases in which illegal aliens are accused of killing American citizens, as well as legal immigrants – many including young children.

Below, Breitbart News details the cases of 14 Americans and legal immigrants who were allegedly killed by illegal aliens this year.

Aiden Clark, 11 Years Old

In August, 35-year-old illegal alien Hermanio Joseph of Haiti was driving a Honda Odyssey minivan when he hit a Northwestern Local Schools bus that was full of children in Clark County, Ohio.

The bus, as a result of the crash, flipped, and 11-year-old Aiden Clark was ejected. That day marked the first day of school for Aiden. Joseph is set to face trial for Aiden’s death sometime in 2024.

Joseph is a citizen of Haiti and arrived at the United States-Mexico border in August 2022. From there, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued Joseph a Notice to Appear (NTA) in federal immigration court and released him into the U.S. interior, where he ultimately ended up in Ohio.

St. Johns County Sgt. Michael Kunovich, 52 Years Old

In May, 18-year-old illegal alien Virjilio Aguilar-Mendez of Guatemala allegedly caused St. Johns County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Michael Kunovich’s death after a struggle between the two that was the result of Aguilar-Mendez not cooperating, police allege.

Following the struggle with Aguilar-Mendez, Kunovich collapsed to the ground. First responders administered lifesaving measures, but he was pronounced dead after being rushed to a nearby hospital.

Kunovich leaves behind two sons and his wife, among others.

Aguilar-Mendez arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border last year and was subsequently released into the United States. According to his attorney, Aguilar-Mendez had been working on a farm and sending money back to Guatemala.

Lizbeth Medina, 16 Years Old

This month, 16-year-old Lizbeth Medina was supposed to perform in a local Christmas parade with her cheer squad at Edna High School but did not show up. She was later found dead in the bathtub of her home by her mother, Jacqueline Medina.

Police have accused 23-year-old illegal alien Rafael Govea Romero of murdering Lizbeth.

Erpharo Gilbert, 46 Years Old

In April, 33-year-old Juan Leonardo Parra Altamirano of Ecuador allegedly caused a deadly crash that left 46-year-old Erpharo Gilbert burning to death in her vehicle. According to police, Altamirano, instead of helping Gilbert get out of her vehicle, fled the scene.

“He could have saved my wife’s life, but he didn’t choose to,” Angel Husband Jean Marie Coquillon told local media at the time, noting that their 5-year-old son is “still waiting for his mom to come home.”

“He’s still waiting for his mom to come home,” Coquillon said. “Always at the window, looking, when he sees a black Honda, he knows that’s his mom.”

Altamirano is suspected to be a recently arrived illegal alien. Gilbert was a legal immigrant from Haiti.

Kayla Hamilton, 20 Years Old

One of the year’s most publicized murder cases occurred in July 2022, when 20-year-old Kayla Marie Hamilton was found dead in her residence in Aberdeen, Maryland. In January of this year, police got a major break in the case when they arrested a 17-year-old illegal alien MS-13 gang member from El Salvador for Hamilton’s murder.

The illegal alien MS-13 gang member was initially apprehended at the southern border in March 2022 before being released into the U.S. interior as an Unaccompanied Alien Child (UAC) in May 2022 by President Joe Biden’s DHS.

The details came to light thanks to an investigation led by House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Chairman Tom McClintock (R-CA).

Just two months later, police said he murdered Hamilton.

According to Angel Mom Tammy Nobles, the illegal alien murdered Hamilton, then raped her and left her on the floor in her bedroom. When police arrested the illegal alien, Nobles said he laughed and smirked.

“Kayla wasn’t doing anything wrong and she didn’t deserve to be murdered. I don’t want any other parent to live the nightmare that I am living,” Nobles told Congress this year. “I am her voice now and I’m going to fight with everything I have to bring awareness to the issue at the border.”

Maria Rios, 57 Years Old

In February, 34-year-old illegal alien Carlos Lara-Balcazar was charged with murdering 57-year-old Maria Rios — a mother of three daughters and grandmother to four grandchildren. The murder occurred in La Marque, Texas.

“I just can’t believe that somebody could be that evil to do something to a woman who just did not deserve it,” Cynthia Espindola, one of Rios’s daughters, told local media at the time.

Ian Matteo Garcia, 6 Years Old

In April, six-year-old Ian Matteo Garcia was in the parking lot of the North Dakota apartment complex where his family lived when he was struck by 19-year-old illegal alien Julian Montoya, who was speeding.

Montoya — who was convicted in September and will serve just five years in prison for Garcia’s death — was driving so fast that even as Garcia was warned to jump out of harm’s way, he did not have time. After hitting and killing Garcia, Montoya fled the scene.

Garcia’s family had recently moved to North Dakota from Guatemala.

Diane Hill Luckett, 67 Years Old

In June, 68-year-old Diane Hill Luckett, a mother of three and grandmother of five, was driving in Wichita Falls, Texas when 37-year-old illegal alien Anastacio Bemol Mendoza struck her SUV after allegedly failing to stop at a red light.

Luckett was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to her injuries more than a week later. She left behind her husband of 37 years, three children, five grandchildren, three dogs, and three cats.

According to police, Mendoza was drunk and likely high on meth and cocaine, which he admitted to using at the time. Mendoza has an extensive criminal record, dating back to 2006, but had never been deported following his prior arrests.

Maria Gonzalez, 11 Years Old

In August, 18-year-old Juan Carlos Garcia Rodriguez was arrested in Pasadena, Texas, for allegedly raping 11-year-old Maria Gonzalez before strangling her and stuffing her lifeless body into a laundry basket that he then allegedly hid under her bed.

Rodriguez first showed up at the U.S.-Mexico border in January of this year from Guatemala before being turned over to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as a UAC because he was 17 years old at the time. HHS eventually released Rodriguez to an adult sponsor in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Julisa Molina Rivera, Sonia Argentina Guzman, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, Jose Jonathan Casarez, and Daniel Enrique Laso

In April, four-time deported 38-year-old illegal alien Francisco Oropeza Perez-Torres of Mexico allegedly shot his neighbors — a family of five who immigrated to the U.S. from Honduras.

The victims were 31-year-old Julisa Molina Rivera, 25-year-old Sonia Argentina Guzman, 21-year-old Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 18-year-old Jose Jonathan Casarez, and nine-year-old Daniel Enrique Laso.

Oropeza was first ordered deported from the U.S. by a federal immigration judge in March 2009. He was quickly deported that month but crossed the border illegally and was deported again in September 2009. Then, in January 2012 and July 2016, Oropeza was also deported.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here. 

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