Three adults and a teenager have been arrested and charged in the kidnapping and murder of an Asian-American comedian and activist in Colombia last month.
The suspect in the death of Tou Ger Xiong is charged with aggravated kidnapping for extortion and aggravated murder in the Medellín Division of the country, according to local newspaper El Colombiano.
Xiong, who came out to a woman he met on social media before his kidnapping on December 10, fell victim to a horrific trend in the South American country, where criminals lure people to meet in public before taking them away and holding them for ransom.
The three adults charged in the crime of harassment have been identified as Sharit Gisela Mejía Martínez, Santiago Bustamante Londoño and Andrés Hincapié Obregón,
All three denied the charges at a recent hearing, the Public Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.
A 17-year-old turned himself in to the Prosecutor’s office in Medellín province after the crime, admitting he took part in the events surrounding Xiong’s abduction and murder, according to local newspaper El Colombiano.
The teenager was transferred to a special detention center for minors.
Tou Ger Xiong, an Asian-American comedian was kidnapped and killed while visiting Colombia last month. Facebook / Tou Ger Xiong The comedian was killed, with his body dumped in the gorge of La Corcovado with more than a dozen stab wounds and blunt force injuries. CBS
The three adults were arrested on January 16 and charged with aggravated kidnapping for extortion and aggravated murder.
They have denied the allegations.
Judicial proceedings this week revealed several phones and vehicles related to the case had been seized by investigators, according to the newspaper.
Xiong, who lives in Minnesota and often flies to Colombia, had traveled to the South American country on November 29, where he planned to spend the holiday season.
The woman Xiong was supposed to meet on Dec. 10 is said to be part of a new group of friends he met during a recent visit to the area, his brother, Eh Xiong, told The Post last month.
Tou Ger Xiong called the redhead a girl when they spent time together in Medellin, Colombia, in October. Tou Ger Xiong/Facebook Xiong, who lives in Minnesota, often flies to South American countries, had gone to Colombia on November 29 where he planned to spend the holiday season. Tou Ger Xiong / Facebook
On the night she was abducted, Xiong was reportedly held against her will in an apartment in Robledo.
Her captors had tied her up, stripped her of her credit cards, cell phone and wallet.
Xiong had made a phone call around 7pm that night to another friend in Colombia saying he was being held at gunpoint and they were demanding a $2,000 (8 million Colombian pesos) ransom for his release.
But even though Xiong’s family in the US quickly made a $3,140 payment to a woman’s account, the comedian was killed, and his body dumped in the La Corcovado gorge with more than a dozen stab wounds and blunt force injuries.
Tou Ger Xiong posted photos with Colombian friends he met on his frequent visits to the country. Facebook / Tou Ger Xiong
The woman Xiong spoke to online was arrested before her body was found.
Xiong traces his ancestry to the Hmong people, an indigenous group from East and Southeast Asia and was valedictorian at Humboldt High School.
He was born in Laos in 1973, while his father was working with the CIA, before fleeing to a refugee camp in Thailand to escape the communist takeover of Laos in 1975.
The family eventually migrated to St. Paul in 1992.
The comedian was born in Laos before fleeing to Thailand and then moving to St. Paul, MN. Tou Ger Xiong / Facebook
The comedian will “share his personal story across the country to build cultural competence and address racial discrimination,” the Bush Foundation said in 2019 when Xiong was named a fellow there.
A three-day memorial service, customary in Hmong culture, is scheduled for the activist at the end of the month, starting with a eulogy by his sister on January 27 and ending two days later with a private funeral.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
