Four Accused Of Brutally Murdering 18-Year-Old Woman With Machete

GAITHERSBURG, MD — Two women, one man, and a teen are in custody and charged with murder concerning the death of 18-year-old Rosa Sanchez Merino in Maryland in May.

Roberto Carlos Rivera-Delgado, Iris Yudella Alonzo-Salgado, Aracely Abarca-Melgar, and Edwin Alexander Rivas-Salvador are accused of killing Sanchez Merino on or about May 1, 2023. In early May, Rivera-Delgado drove the suspects to a wooded area along Brookeville Road in Olney, MD, to murder Merino, police said. The group took Sanchez Merino into the woods, forced her to her knees, and took turns hitting her in the neck with a machete, according to court paperwork. They later buried her body in a shallow grave in the woods, police said.

Rivera-Delgado, 23, was arrested for a parole violation in Nevada and extradited to Maryland on Sept. 29. He led Montgomery County Department of Police-Major Crimes detectives to the location where Sanchez Merino was buried.

On Oct. 1, an autopsy of Sanchez Merino was conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and the death was ruled a homicide. Through the course of the investigation, 23-year-old Alonzo-Salgado of Frederick, MD, and 21-year-old Abarca-Melgar of Manchester were identified as suspects involved in Sanchez Merino’s death and a warrant was requested for their arrest.

On the strength of the warrant, Abarca-Melgar was arrested in New York, where she awaits extradition to Montgomery County. 16-year-old Rivas-Salvador was arrested on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, and is being charged as an adult.

All four suspects were charged with first-degree murder. Iris Yudella Alonzo-Salgado, Roberto Carlos Rivera-Delgado, and Edwin Alexander Rivas-Salvador have been transported to the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit, where they are being held without bond.