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Suspects face hearing in Mexico case tied to alleged crypto wallet
Prosecutors accuse the suspects of seeking a cold wallet believed to contain millions of dollars in Bitcoin, charges that could bring 25 to 70 years of prison per homicide victim if convicted, La Jornada reported.
Two suspects are scheduled for a court hearing in Mexico on Wednesday after prosecutors alleged the quadruple killings were linked to an effort to steal cryptocurrency, with a cold wallet believed to hold millions of dollars in Bitcoin, according to Cointelegraph citing reporting from La Jornada and updates from the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Mexico (FGJEM).
Prosecutors accuse Diego Sebastián and Gerardo, whose surnames were withheld, of killing Jonathan Meléndez, his pregnant wife, their daughter, and an employee at their home in Atizapán de Zaragoza, the outlet reported. The family’s golden retriever was also killed, Cointelegraph wrote, citing the same reporting.
Cointelegraph also noted that Mexico’s security secretary Omar García Harfuch said one suspect was a business associate of one of the victims and allegedly used the relationship to enter the home, per a Sept. 2 X post. FGJEM said the men could face 25 to 70 years in prison per homicide victim if convicted, as reported by La Jornada.
The case is being framed alongside broader reports on so called wrench attacks against crypto owners. Cointelegraph cited blockchain security firm CertiK data that the first half of 2026 saw 20 publicly reported home invasions targeting crypto owners, up from one incident in the same period a year earlier, with CertiK counting 52 wrench attacks worldwide in the first half of 2026.
Cointelegraph further cited Chainalysis estimates that criminals stole more than $30 million in crypto through wrench attacks in the first half of 2026, and referenced an October 2025 case in which attackers killed a convicted Russian crypto fraudster, Roman Novak, and his wife after kidnapping them and demanding crypto.
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