Murder of Mark Kilroy

Mark James Kilroy (March 05, 1968 to March 14, 1989) was an American college student who was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by associates of cult leader Adolfo Constanzo as part of a human sacrifice.

Kilroy was kidnapped while vacationing in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, during spring break. He was one of at least 14 victims similarly tortured and killed by Costanzo and his followers, who used the victims' remains in rituals for a version of the Palo religion, and who believed human sacrifice granted them immunity from law enforcement for their drug smuggling operations. The killing drew worldwide media attention and initiated an international police manhunt because of the unusual circumstances of the crime.

After the bodies were discovered on April 11, 1989, Constanzo fled to Mexico City but was eventually tracked down. As the police surrounded his apartment complex, Constanzo died after ordering one of the cult members to kill him with a machine gun. Sara Aldrete, another high-ranking member of the cult, was arrested at the scene along with several others. In 1993, several surviving cult members were found guilty of a number of charges, including capital murder and drug trafficking. Several of them, however, claimed they were not guilty of Kilroy's murder and told the press they were tortured to confess. Two suspects still remain at large.