Maryland teen kidnapped by MS-13 gangbangers — then hacked to death by machete-wielding attackers
An MS-13 associate was convicted of first-degree murder last week in the savage 2023 slaying of a teenage girl who was lured from New Jersey to Maryland before her body was dumped in a freshly dug grave.
The skeletal remains of Rosa Sánchez Merino, 18, were found four months after her murder on the orders of the bloodthirsty MS-13 gang in Olney, MD, some 200 miles from where she was taken in Elizabeth, NJ, Fox 5 DC reported.
Iris Alonzo-Salgado, 24, was found guilty on Friday of first-degree murder, conspiracy and gang participation resulting in death after waiving her right to a jury during her trial at Montgomery County Circuit Court, MD.
Alonzo-Salgado and Rivera-Delgado had taken Sánchez Merino to New Jersey to visit friends and family, according to a statement from the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, Patch.com reported.
Sánchez Merino had known both of her killers before the murder, but no other reason was given for the killing.
The teen was lured by Alonzo-Salgado, along with three others, to a wooded area north of DC in May 2023, according to prosecutors.
There, she was gagged and forced to kneel before her attackers stabbed her with a machete.
Alonzo-Salgado, who the Maryland State Attorney’s Office says is an MS-13 associate, faces two life sentences plus 25 years when she is sentenced on Jan. 21.
Co-conspirator Roberto Rivera-Delgado led detectives to Sánchez Merino’s burial site on Sept. 30, 2023.
He pleaded guilty to murder and gang charges in July 2024 and is awaiting sentencing.
A third defendant, Aracely Abarca-Melgar, is awaiting trial, while a fourth defendant, who was a juvenile at the time of the killing, has not been publicly identified.


