9 US citizens slaughtered in Mexico ambush, family says
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Three women and six of their children, all with ties to Utah, were slaughtered Monday in Mexico.
The women and their kids are all dual Mexican and U.S. citizens and were traveling back to the U.S, when family members say they were ambushed by cartels.
It happened near Bavispe, in Sonora, about 100 miles south of Mexico’s border with Arizona.
Lafe Langford Jr. posted video on Facebook of a burned-out SUV on Monday afternoon. It's believed to be the car of María Rohnita Miller, who Langford wrote was killed in the attack. He said her car was struck so badly with gunfire that it exploded.
Four of her children died inside the vehicle with her, according to Langford's post.
He states the children were Krystal Bellaine, 10, Howard Jacob, 12, and twins Titus Alvin Miller and Tiana Gricel Miller, who were just six months old.
Dawna Ray Langford, 43, and two of her nine children were also killed in the attack, Langford wrote. One of them was initially unaccounted for, but was found late Monday.
The third woman who died, Langford stated, was Christina Marie Langford, who was 31 years old. She had one baby with her: Faith Marie Johnson. Relatives say the baby was found alive after she was thrown on the ground.
2News spoke with Dawna’s nephew Monday night. His name is Taylor Langford, and he lives in Herriman.
He says the whole family is devastated and spent most of Monday feeling completely helpless as this story unfolded.
"They killed all three women, and seven of the children have been confirmed dead," Langford said.
He told us the children who survived were in the process of being brought to the U.S. border for medical treatment. Langford also says the family has had interactions previously with cartels, but the women and children were clearly not the intended targets here.
"It's a whole new level of cartel violence we’ve never even imagined down there," he said.
A GoFundMe account has been set up for the LeBaron and Langford families. Click here.
