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The dark history of Matamoros: Mark Kilroy was kidnapped 33 years ago in city where 4 Americans were abducted last week

The search for Kilroy continued for almost a month before his remains were discovered in a mass grave along with other victims

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers' discretion advised

MATAMOROS, MEXICO: The horrifying abduction of four South Carolina tourists in Matamoros might have forced many Americans to recall a similar type of incident that took place in the same cartel-controlled Mexican city more than three decades back. In 1989, Mark Kilroy was only 21 years old when he vanished during his spring break vacation. 

The search for Kilroy continued for almost a month before his remains were discovered in a mass grave along with other victims. The poor individual was said to have been abducted, tortured, and killed by a drug-smuggling satanic cult.

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The tragic fate of Mark Kilroy

Kilroy, 21, was a college student in Texas who went to Mexico on March 14, 1989, with a group of friends. According to The Washington Post, Kilroy was at Matamoros, a city across from Brownsville, Texas, where he intended to go bar hopping. He vanished the very same night only to be found dead on April 11, twenty miles away at a ranch alongside 14 others.

Three weeks after the 21-year-old's sudden disappearance, Mexican police detained a man on a Marijuana violation, leading to his family’s ranch being searched for further drugs. But according to the Los Angeles Times, the authorities were terrified to discover what they described as a "human slaughterhouse". 

Kilroy's spine was taken out and both his legs were chopped off. The brains, blood, and hearts of the victims were found in an iron cauldron. Local news reports stated that the cult “believed human sacrifice ensured supernatural protection for their drug-smuggling operation”. According to The Post, the cult was identified as Los Narcosatánicos who carried out their horrific acts on the family ranch, which also served as a base to smuggle about 1,000 lbs (454 kg) of marijuana to the US every month.

Cuban American Adolfo de Jesús Constanzo was named as the main perpetrator behind the incident. Cult members called him “El Padrino” or the godfather.

In June 1989, Gary Cartwright wrote for the Texas Monthly that he “introduced various forms of mind control in the guise of religious mumbo jumbo. As Charles Manson had used the Beatles song ‘Helter Skelter’, the Cuban used a movie called ‘The Believers’, in which a father and his son are caught in a web of black magic”. Investigators believe that Constanzo tortured Kilroy and then killed him with a machete.

An international manhunt was conducted to find him and the other people associated with the murders of at least 15 people found on the ranch. The Associated Press reported at that time, the cult leader and his accomplices fled to Mexico City, where Constanzo is reported to have ordered his own shooting alongside his top follower in May 1989. Law enforcement launched a raid on an apartment where they came across the two bodies which were riddled with gunshot wounds. At least five members of the cult received long sentences. 

Kilroy's parents vowed to fight against drugs

Kilroy's parents James and Helen Kilroy created a nonprofit battling substance abuse. The 21-year-old was an honor student who dreamed of becoming a doctor. Months after Mark was killed, his father James told  Rolling Stone, "We’re definitely putting our energy into the fight against drugs." “For that reason, we don’t look back. We try to look forward,” he added.

The recent kidnappings of four Americans in Matamoros

The four American citizens - Latavia ‘Tay’ McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown, and Eric James Williams entered Mexico last week for one of them to undergo a cosmetic procedure. However, they were ambushed and shot at by armed men believed to be members of a local drug cartel. They were then forced into a pickup truck and were kept hidden from the Mexican and US authorities for four days. 

On March 7, they were found at a “stash house” where McGee and Williams were rescued after they watched Woodard and Brown die. The cartel which is held responsible for the brutal act issued an apology letter and handed over five of their members to local authorities, according to images circulating online. “The [Gulf Cartel] apologizes to the society of Matamoros, the relatives of Ms. Areli, and the affected American people and families,” reads the handwritten letter, according to CNN, referring to a Mexican woman who was also killed in the shootout.

The bodies of the two Americans killed in the kidnapping were delivered Thursday to US diplomatic authorities. Five men can be seen lying face down in one of the photos posted online with their shirts pulled over their faces. “The Gulf Cartel, Scorpion Group, strongly condemns the events of last Friday,” the letter continued, referring to a division of the cartel. “For this reason, we decided to hand over those directly involved and responsible for the acts, who at all times acted under their own determination and indiscipline and against the rules in which the [Gulf Cartel] always operates.”

Matamoros, a highly volatile place

Out of Mexico's 32 states, the US has Level 4 ('do not travel') advisories on six, including Tamaulipas where Matamoros is located, due to the risks of crime and kidnapping. Matamoros is also described as “a city where killings and disappearances are so common they rarely make headlines."

The US State Department increased its warning level for Matamoros following the abductions last week to its highest level, telling Americans not to go there.