Angel Esteban Pacheco, an 11-year-old boy from Sugar-loaf, NC, tragically lost his life on June 15, 2019. His body, along with that of his 12-year-old sister, America Dayana Pacheco, was discovered in a burned mobile home after firefighters extinguished the blaze. The siblings were of Hispanic descent. Their mother, Maria De Los Angeles Calderon, 38, and her two friends, Jose Carlos Mendez and Luis Fernando Sanchez, were found weeks later in a burned pickup truck in a remote area of southwest
Virginia.
Authorities charged Areli Aguirre-Avilez, then 30 years old, and his girlfriend, Heidi Darlene Wolfe, then 16 years old, with the murders. Aguirre-Avilez faced multiple charges, including five counts of Felony-First Degree Murder, Felony-Domestic Violence Protective Order Violation with Deadly Weapon, Felony Statutory Rape Of Child Age 15 Or Under, and Felony-First Degree Arson. Wolfe was charged with five counts of Felony First Degree Murder and one count of Felony First Degree Arson.
The investigation revealed that a hunter found the bodies of Maria De Los Angeles Calderon, Jose Carlos Mendez, and Luis Fernando Sanchez inside a truck in Grayson County, Virginia, on November 4, 2019. The remains were badly burned, and the VIN plate on the truck matched that of Juan Carlos Mendez-Pena’s missing vehicle.
In November 2024, bond was set for the defendants, with Aguirre-Avilez receiving a $2 million secured bond and Wolfe a $1 million secured bond. Both suspects had been in custody without bond since their arrests in June 2019. The court denied motions to dismiss the charges based on cellphone records that allegedly indicated the accused were elsewhere when the murders were committed. The case is expected to go to trial in Spring 2025.
