On Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025, the body of 20-year-old Angela Yajahira Cortes Villegas was discovered in a wooded area of Crest Lawn Memorial Park in Atlanta, Georgia. A female, later identified as Villegas from Utah, had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators initially believed she was Hispanic. With no identification found on her, police turned to the public for help, releasing images of her distinctive tattoos, including an eye on her right
wrist, a treble clef on her left wrist, and a bird with a flower on her left thigh. Ultimately, her identity was confirmed through fingerprint records.
The investigation into her death revealed that she was shot five times. Surveillance footage from the evening of April 19th showed Villegas at a gas station across from the cemetery with a man and a woman. Shortly after, the three of them were seen walking into the cemetery together. While a clear motive for the killing has not been released by investigators, court documents suggest a planned conspiracy.
In a significant breakthrough, three suspects from the metro Atlanta area were arrested in Norcross on May 23, 2025. The individuals taken into custody were 22-year-old Denis Manuel Velasquez Rivera, 18-year-old Madelian Garcia, and 22-year-old Hector Paz. All three face charges of murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery, and conspiracy to commit a felony. Garcia and Paz were also charged with felony murder. According to arrest warrants, the suspects had allegedly discussed the plan to kill Villegas throughout the day, with Velasquez Rivera accused of being the one who pulled the trigger. The investigation remains active as authorities have indicated they are looking into the possibility of other individuals being involved.
