In the early morning hours of a July day in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, a grim discovery was made in the parking lot of the Socastee Plaza. A man passing by with his child noticed a figure lying on the ground next to a gold Chevrolet Astro van and called for medical help, hesitant to get too close. The initial call led to the arrival of paramedics who soon realized the man was deceased, prompting the involvement of the Horry County Police.
Upon their arrival, officers found a second deceased man inside the van, turning a medical emergency into a double homicide investigation.
The victims were identified as 31-year-old Rafael Aguilar, a Hispanic male, and 33-year-old Carmelo Marmolejo-Calixto, both residents of the Myrtle Beach area. The county coroner later confirmed that both men had died from gunshot wounds. Aguilar was found on the pavement beside the van, while Marmolejo-Calixto was discovered in the passenger seat. The windshield wipers of the van were still in motion when the scene was processed by law enforcement.
In the days following the discovery, the Horry County Police Department announced they were investigating the case as a double homicide and began seeking information from the public. They revealed that the shooting was believed to have occurred around 4:30 a.m. on July 11, 2016, several hours before the bodies were found at approximately 7 a.m. Despite their initial efforts, investigators soon exhausted their leads and made a public plea for assistance, asking anyone who might have been in the area or seen anything, no matter how insignificant it seemed, to come forward.
As time passed, the investigation into the deaths of Rafael Aguilar and Carmelo Marmolejo-Calixto grew cold. There have been no public announcements of any arrests made or suspects identified in the years since the double homicide. The case remains an unsolved mystery, leaving a lingering sense of unanswered questions for the community and the families of the two men whose lives were cut short in the parking lot of the Socastee Plaza.
