On a Sunday evening in late August 2023, the tragic discovery of two bodies on the grassy shoulder of a busy Gwinnett County interstate would unravel a devastating story. A passerby who had pulled over with car trouble near the I-85/985 split in the vicinity of Suwanee, Georgia, spotted the figures of a young man and woman and alerted authorities. The victims were identified as 16-year-old Juan Angel Montes and his 23-year-old sister, Maria Rosaria Montes Dorantes, both of Griffin. An autopsy would later confirm that both siblings died from gunshot wounds. No vehicle was found near their bodies, adding to the initial mystery of the grim scene.
Investigators quickly began piecing together the events that led to the double homicide. Friends of the victims revealed that Maria had moved to Georgia from Mexico years earlier to provide a better life for her three children. They recounted that on the night before their bodies were found, the siblings had gone out with a man Maria knew and trusted, a family friend. Concern grew when Maria failed to pick up her baby from the babysitter as planned. The investigation led Gwinnett County police to identify two suspects in the killings.
Warrants were issued for 41-year-old Manuel Lorenzo Sanchez and 24-year-old Ricardo Lorenzo Montes. Sanchez, the man described as a trusted family friend, faces the most serious allegations, including two counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Ricardo Lorenzo Montes, who is reportedly not related to the victims, was charged with tampering with evidence. At the time the charges were announced, law enforcement stated that the whereabouts of both Sanchez and Montes were unknown, and they were considered to be at large. Police believe the siblings were shot and killed on the side of the highway in the early morning hours before their bodies were discovered later that evening.
