In recent years, at least eight foreigners have been murdered in Yucatán, four of them American citizens. The most recent case is that of Texan Linda Louise Johnston, whose remains were found in Chicxulub Puerto, the site of another homicide of an American.
Leo Robert Wicard
On May 13, 2012, American Leo Robert Wicard was murdered in a house located on 78th Street between 73rd and 75th Streets, near the former slaughterhouse, in downtown Mérida.
His body was found days later in a grave on the property. The case was initially investigated as a robbery. Police surprised three men leaving the house with various valuables. Neighbors alerted officers that a foreigner lived there, so they began searching the area until they found the body.
The murderer turned out to be Veracruz native Martín Alejandro G.G. (a) “Gary,” who worked as a masseur. David Wilfrido P.M., Lorenzo M. M., and Eduardo Jesús G. S. were also arrested. They were released after it was proven that they were only involved in the theft of the American’s belongings.
Samuel Warren Woodruff
On November 11, 2012, 63-year-old American painter Samuel Warren Woodruff was stabbed to death. The man, who had lived in the state for 10 years, died at the Medical Center of the Americas as a result of the injuries he sustained at the hands of his attacker.
His body was found on the property located on 22nd Street between 17th and 19th Streets in Itzimná. He had five stab wounds.
Barbara McClatchie Andrews
74-year-old Canadian Barbara McClatchie Andrews was murdered, and her body was dumped in the weeds near Teya, on the Mérida-Valladolid highway.
The crime occurred in September 2016. She was a National Geographic photographer and had lived in Mérida for about 10 years. She lived in a building on 60th Street between 73rd Street in the city center, which also served as an art gallery and was called In La ‘Kech.
Roger Corbet
On November 13, 2016, Canadian Roger Corbet was murdered by a fellow citizen in a building on 19th Street between 38th and 38-A Streets in Chicxulub Puerto.
A bulletin from the Yucatán Prosecutor’s Office reported that the victim and his murderer, Brian Slater, were living with a third person on a Sunday afternoon. The murder occurred in the kitchen of the house. The attacker wounded the now-deceased with a knife, causing injuries to the chest and abdomen.
According to neighbors, the killer was intoxicated and, after stabbing his fellow countryman, began shouting that he had killed him. Despite speaking little Spanish, he used hand signals to make himself understood.
US Septuagenarian Murdered in Mérida
On June 27, 2020, an American man was stabbed to death in his home in the Yucalpetén neighborhood, allegedly during a fight with a sex worker.
The deceased was identified as John Lee, 70, who lived at 178 67th Street between 120th and 122nd Streets, directly across from the San Martín Caballero Church.
A neighbor discovered the body amidst a bloodstain when she looked through the open gate. The body had at least 10 stab wounds to the chest, abdomen, and neck.
French couple missing in Yucatán
On October 5, 2022, the French Embassy confirmed the disappearance of a French couple in Mexico, amid confusion about the date and place where they were last seen. Initially, search reports began in Chiapas. However, the investigations reached Yucatán, where they led to the discovery of two bodies in Valladolid.
Michel Amado, 57, and his wife, Assya Madjour, 50, are originally from the French Basque Country. The couple lived in Valladolid, where they managed the “Catrina” hostel and other accommodations. They also lived in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo.
The Yucatán Attorney General’s Office confirmed the discovery of two bodies in the hostel where the couple lived, in the Candelaria neighborhood of Valladolid.
Most recent case
On April 22, 2025, the remains of Linda Louise Johnston, 71, a retired U.S. Air Force veteran, were found.
The woman had been reported missing since April 17. The murderer is suspected to be her son, also of American origin, who dismembered the body and placed the remains in bags.
TYT Newsroom
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