By Raul Castillo
Apr 29, 2024, 7:17 PM EDT
George Allan Kelly, the 75-year-old rancher who killed a Mexican migrant who was passing through his land on the Arizona-Mexico border, after the former was declared invalid by a jury, the Prosecutor’s Office reported this Monday.
Kelly is accused of the death of Gabriel Cuén Buitimea, a 48-year-old Mexican migrant, in an incident that occurred in January 2023.
The Prosecutor’s Office decided not to request a new trial after the first one was declared null and void by a jury due to “the unique circumstances and challenges surrounding” the case, according to the EFE agency.
Kelly was charged with second-degree murder for shooting Cuén Buitimea as he passed through his land with a group of migrants. However, a jury failed to reach a verdict in the first trial, leading the Prosecutor’s Office to not seek a new trial, thus clearing Kelly of all charges.
They protest in court
The Prosecutor’s Office’s decision has caused outrage among migrant advocacy groups, who were protesting outside the court.
Cuén Buitimea’s daughters lamented the outcome of the trial in an interview with Telemundo, explaining that their father only crossed the border “from time to time” in search of work and that Kelly had “no right” to take his life.
During the trial, the Prosecutor’s Office argued that Kelly “intentionally” shot at a group of migrants without any warning, resulting in the death of Cuén Buitimea from at least one bullet wound to the back.
However, Kelly’s lawyers alleged that he fired shots to try to intimidate the group, arguing that there was a possibility they were attacked by traffickers.
The rancher found the Mexican’s body hours after the events, during a tour of his land, the EFE agency detailed. However, his first call was to the Border Patrol and not to the emergency service reporting that he had found the body of “an animal.”
The case has generated controversy on both sides of the border, with supporters of former President Donald Trump calling Kelly a “hero” and “patriot” for defending their lands from the “invasion” of migrants and drug traffickers.
Cuén Buitimea was a father of seven children and a native of Buaysiacobe, in southern Sonora, where he is survived by his mother, wife and seven siblings who depended on him to support the family. According to immigration records, he had entered the United States irregularly several times and had been deported in 2016.
With information from EFE.
Keep reading:
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- George Alan Kelly’s trial for murdering a Mexican immigrant on his ranch begins in September