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Mexican Man Arrested In K-Pop Star's Father's Beating Murder
Jose Arredondo, the father of Samuel, the K-pop icon, was found beaten to death in his Mexican condo earlier this month.
Mexican police have arrested a man in connection with the murder of Jose Arredondo, the father of K-pop singer Samuel.
The suspect, a 50-year-old man from Hidalgo, Mexico, has only been identified as “Roberto N,” according to PEOPLE.com. He was arrested Monday night and charged with homicide almost two weeks after Arrendondo’s badly beaten body was discovered inside his Cabo San Lucas condo on July 16. Arrendondo died from blunt-force trauma.
Police as well as Arrendondo’s family believe there are more suspects — and that others were present with Roberto when the deadly assault occurred. Laura Arredondo, Jose’s sister, told KGET-TV, a California NBC affiliate, that the suspect is known to them.
“That particular person was a friend of his for 20 years,” she said. “They have one of them, but it wasn’t just one [person], it was more. But at least they have one of them, and I know that person is going to talk.”
It’s unclear what motivated the fatal beating, but Laura maintained that her 60-year-old brother was a pacifist.
“He was not a fighter. He would see someone argue and he would walk away,” Laura said. “He was not a fighter, and for someone to do that to him, it doesn’t have a name … It’s been incredibly hard for my whole family.”
Arredondo was a prominent car salesmen in Bakersfield, who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico in the 1970s, according to PEOPLE.com. He was 11 when he arrived in the U.S., The Bakersfield Californian reported.
Arrendondo’s, son, Samuel Arrendondo, is the 17-year-old international K-pop sensation Samuel, who achieved international stardom as a singer in the pop duo 1Punch. From a young age, Samuel began performing in his father’s car commercials. Samuel, who lives in South Korea, released his first solo album in 2017.
Since his father’s killing, the K-pop singer disabled his social accounts. But during a church service celebrating his father’s life, he praised his father’s love for Bakersfield.
“He really reached out and helped the community,” Samuel said. “I really hope one day I can be the man he was.”
