Prince George’s County police have charged four suspects, including a 17-year-old who lives in Hyattsville, with the apparent gang-related murder of a 14-year-old whose remains were found in College Park on Nov. 3.
According to police, the victim, Jefferson Amaya-Ayala of the District, apparently was lured into Indian Creek Stream Valley Park on Aug. 2 and murdered the same day. Police said the victim knew at least one of the suspects.
County police on Saturday named the suspects as Jose Merlos-Majano, 18, Alan Josai Garcia-Padilla, 21, and William Cuellar Gutierrez, 19, all from the District, where Amaya-Ayala was last seen on Aug. 2, according to the Metropolitan Police Department and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Police withheld the name of a fourth suspect, the 17-year-old.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that Amaya-Ayala died from multiple injuries.
County police, Metropolitan Police Department officers and the FBI’s Cross-Border Task Force were conducting a joint missing-persons investigation when they discovered the remains on Nov. 3, according to a news release issued by county police on Dec. 5.
Law enforcement officials set up operations on Sweetbriar Drive on Nov. 3 and told a resident there was no danger to the neighborhood.
Police said two of the suspects are in custody in Prince George’s County and two are pending extradition, one from the District and one from Alexandria.