In Alabama, authorities have uncovered the tragic fate of a missing mother and her two children, who were found brutally murdered with a sharp instrument and buried in a secluded woodland area, encased in plastic and bedding, according to a local sheriff.

Hector Gamaliel Argueta-Guerra, 31, has been held in the Mobile County Jail since February on charges of kidnapping. Recently, prosecutors have intensified the charges, adding three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of 40-year-old Aurelia Choc Cac, her 17-year-old daughter Niurka Zuleta Choc, and 2-year-old son Anthony Garcia Choc.

The Choc family was last observed around 3 p.m. on January 30 at their residence in the 9000 block of Ben Hamilton Road in Theodore, approximately 15 miles southwest of Mobile. They were reported missing the following day when police discovered signs of a violent altercation at their home, including substantial blood evidence. The victims’ remains were located on Wednesday at a site linked to Argueta-Guerra, as revealed by Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch during a press conference.

Prosecutors have announced that the state intends to pursue the death penalty in this case.

“He’s an evil person who will face his judgment soon,” Burch stated.

The sheriff noted that investigators are still working to uncover the motive behind Argueta-Guerra’s alleged actions.

“What motive would there be for killing a 2-year-old?” he said. “We don’t know.”

Local NBC affiliate WPMI obtained an arrest affidavit that said the victims were killed with a sharp-edged weapon. The 2-year-old boy suffered “sharp force trauma” to the head area while his mother was apparently stabbed in the chest and back, the affidavit reportedly stated. They were then taken to a wooded area in nearby Baldwin County and buried in a “clandestine grave.”

Authorities are still working to positively identify the bodies but they believe they are the Choc family based on some of the jewelry they were wearing.

The defendant is allegedly a member of the Sureños gang, a California-based group associated with the Mexican mafia. Argueta-Guerra was slated for deportation in 2021 but was released for unknown reasons, officials said.

“Hector, you are a sick person to do what you did to this family and we know if convicted, you will never see the outside world again,” the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook.