Actress Ali Landry and her film director husband, Alejandro Gómez Monteverde, are mourning the loss of his father and brother who were found dead Sept. 19 after being held hostage in Mexico for 16 days, according to Us Weekly.
Monteverde’s father, Juan Manuel Gómez Fernández, and brother, Juan Manuel Gómez Monteverde, were kidnapped near their home Sept. 4 in the northeastern Mexican city of Tampico. The area is well known for drug cartel violence between Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel, reported the New York Post. His brother was a business partner for the restaurant La Pecerita, which has allegedly been linked to drug cartel activity in the past, according to the Latin Times.
After their murdered bodies were discovered in the city of Pueblo Viejo, the Attorney General’s Office of Veracruz said both had sustained traumatic brain injuries and had been dead several days before being found, according to the Advocate.
A car found near the scene is undergoing forensic testing, reported the Advocate, because authorities believe it may have been used in the kidnapping.
Various reports said the ransom the kidnappers requested was paid, so it is not understood why the father and son were killed.
Thirty-eight weeks ago, Monteverde shared a photo on Instagram of himself with his dad in which he called him “my best friend, my life mentor, the wisest man I know.”
A photo posted by Alejandro Monteverde (@alejandromonteverde77) on Dec 25, 2014 at 11:02am PST
Actor David Henrie, who starred in the Monteverde-directed film “Little Boy,” posted his condolences on Instagram: “My heart and prayers go out for the Monteverde family…. And pray for mexico these injustices MUST END the kidnappings MUST STOP.”
A photo posted by David Henrie (@davidhenrie) on Sep 21, 2015 at 2:03pm PDT
Monteverde, 38, and Landry, 42, have been married since 2006. They have three children together.
