The case of four people murdered in Mexico involves a Bitcoin robbery, and two suspects are facing trial

According to Cointelegraph, the Attorney General's Office of the State of Mexico (FGJEM) reported that two suspects, Diego Sebastián and Gerardo, were arrested for allegedly murdering Jonathan Meléndez, the keyboardist of the rock band Camilo Séptimo, along with his pregnant wife, daughter, and an employee. The family's golden retriever was also killed.

The suspects are accused of committing the crime to obtain a cold wallet that allegedly contained millions of dollars in Bitcoin, with one of the suspects being a business partner of the victim, using that relationship to gain access to the victim's home. The two will appear in court on Wednesday, where the judge will decide if there is enough evidence to continue the criminal proceedings. If convicted, each suspect could face a prison sentence of 25 to 70 years corresponding to each victim.

Such violent robberies targeting cryptocurrency holders (known as "ransom attacks") are on the rise. According to CertiK data, there were 52 reported ransom attack incidents globally in the first half of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 33.3%; among them, there were 20 home invasions targeting cryptocurrency holders, compared to only 1 during the same period last year.

Chainalysis estimates that in the first half of 2026, criminals stole over 30 million dollars in cryptocurrency through ransom attacks. In 2025, global ransom attack incidents increased by 75% to 72 cases, with France leading with 19 cases, accounting for about 40% of the total attacks in Europe.