Police have captured a prime suspect in the case of a Canadian couple murdered in their Ajijic home, while an accomplice remains on the run, Jalisco Attorney General Luis Carlos Nájera announced at a press conference held Thursday, February 13.
Najera identified the alleged killer as Julio César Castillo Casillas, 31, arrested in Chapala the previous day by state law enforcement officers who tracked him down to a hillside hideout near his place of residence. A widespread search for his brother and partner-in-crime, Angel de Jesús Castillo Casillas, continued at press time.
Victims of cruel violence
The bodies of Nina Discombe, 72, and Edward Kular, 84, were discovered by their handyman early Sunday, February 9, in the home they shared in the La Floresta subdivision. Both were found sprawled face-down in pools of blood on the living room floor.
Discombe reportedly died from stab wounds in the abdomen while her partner succumbed to head wounds inflicted by a blunt object. Forensic tests practiced on the corpses set the time of death at approximately 2 a.m. on Sunday morning.
Linda Marian (Nina) Discombe, a Montreal native and long-time Ottawa resident, was an accomplished author who recently published a romantic mystery novel entitled “The Leperous Veil of Love.” She had wintered in Mexico for many years before purchasing the La Floresta residence last fall as her permanent home.
Edward Kular, a widower and retired printer from the Toronto area, met Discombe a few years back after he became a lakeside snowbird. Mutual congeniality led to a lasting bond, transcending seasons and borders as they shared companionship while bouncing between winter stints in Mexico and summers in Canada.
Friends and family at both ends of the map have expressed shock and dismay that the elderly twosome became victims of senseless violence.
Prompt police work
Immediately after learning of the grisly crime, the Attorney General put the case in the hands of the state’s intentional homicide division, assigning a team of more than 70 justice department (FGE) employees to handle detective work and an intensive manhunt for the culprits.
Around 30 FGE agents, including investigators and state police, were dispatched to the lakeside area under orders to comb the area for suspects and clues.
In separate press interviews, both Chapala Mayor Joaquín Huerta and Canada’s Consul in Guadalajara Francis Uy voiced firm confidence in the Jalisco government, stressing their appreciation for the close contact and coordination they had established with the attorney general.
Easing fears among expats
“We’re going to get those guys,” Nájera declared in face-to-face meeting meeting with a select group of expats residents held Monday, February 10 in Ajijic.
The following morning the couple’s stolen Dodge Caravan was located in the village of Tlachichilco, about 10 kilometers north east of Chapala. Throughout the day convoys of armored state police patrols were spotted scouring the north shore as a government helicopter continuously buzzed over head.
Meanwhile, dozens of potential witnesses and persons of interest were taken in for questioning at the command center set up in the Chapala Ministerio Publico district attorney’s office.
News that a murder suspect was in custody spread like wildfire Wednesday afternoon.
Breaking stories in Canadian media revealed details of the crime that were directly attributed to the Attorney General. He disclosed the theory that the suspects had plotted to burglarize the victims’ home while they were sleeping. Instead, they encountered the couple awake, killing them on the spot in fear of being recognized and identified to police.
Nájera indicated that the brother who is still at large was employed in construction work at a neighboring property, suggesting he had noticed a new flat screen television being delivered to the couple’s address a few days prior to the crime.
Close friends of Discombe were aware of several verbal confrontations she had with the building crew over the loud music played at site, although that angle of a possible motive has not been brought up by the FGE chief.
At Thursday’s press conference Nájera stated that Casillas had a prior criminal record including charges of theft and breaking-and-entering. The suspect has confessed to pairing up with his sibling to rob the home and then murder the couple. They apparently believed Discombe lived alone, making her any easy mark. Kular suffered disabilities that kept him confined to the premises much of the time.
The TV, a camera, sewing machine, and various household appliances, along with credit cards and 7,600 pesos in cash, are listed among valuables purportedly stolen during the crime. At last word, authorities were awaiting a court-ordered search warrant to search the place where Casillas admitted to stashing his share of the loot.
(Future reporting will delve into previous homicide cases in lakeside’s expat community.)