OLNEY, MD – Four individuals, including two women, one man, and a teen, have been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in relation to the death of 18-year-old Rosa Sanchez Merino.
The suspects, identified as Roberto Carlos Rivera-Delgado, Iris Yudella Alonzo-Salgado, Aracely Abarca-Melgar, and Edwin Alexander Rivas-Salvador, are accused of killing Sanchez Merino around May 1, 2023, and burying her body in a shallow grave located in the 3600 block of Brookville Road, Olney.
Rivera-Delgado, a 23-year-old, was initially arrested in Nevada for a parole violation and subsequently extradited to Maryland on September 29, 2023. According to the Montgomery County Department of Police, Rivera-Delgado led Major Crimes detectives to the location where Sanchez Merino was buried.
An autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on October 1, 2023, confirmed the death as a homicide.
Further investigation identified Alonzo-Salgado, 23, of Frederick, and Abarca-Melgar, 21, of Manchester, NH, as additional suspects involved in the death of Sanchez Merino.
Warrants were issued for their arrest. Abarca-Melgar was subsequently apprehended in New York and is awaiting extradition to Montgomery County.
The fourth suspect, 16-year-old Rivas-Salvador, was arrested on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, and will be charged as an adult.
All four suspects are currently being held without bond at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit. The investigation into this tragic case continues to unfold.