In the close-knit community of Monte Vista, Colorado, Korina Arroyo was known as a 31-year-old mother and a beloved part of a large family. On her social media, she described her son, whom she called "Choco," as her "inspiration for living a wonderful life." She cherished coming home to a house filled with her "crazy sisters" and wrote, "I couldn't ask for a better family to share my life story with." Months before she vanished, Korina, a Hispanic female, had posted about starting a new life, possibly in Denver, expressing a premonition that "This valley will end up killing me." Her words would prove tragically prophetic.
Korina was last seen in Monte Vista on the evening of August 24 or the morning of August 25, 2020. Her family reported her missing on August 28, sparking immediate concern and a frantic search. Her cousin, Jessica Villagomez, later recalled the community being on edge and described Korina's mother as distraught over the disappearance of her oldest child.
The family's anguish was compounded by the fact that Korina was scheduled to testify as a state's witness in a drug-related trial just weeks after she went missing, leading investigators to believe her murder was meant to silence her.
The investigation into Korina’s disappearance soon connected with a horrifying string of missing persons cases across Colorado's San Luis Valley. In November 2020, a multi-agency task force uncovered human remains at two rural properties in Los Sauces, a small community near the New Mexico border. The remains had been dismembered and burned in pits, making identification a grim and difficult task for forensic specialists. The discovery led investigators to a man from the nearby town of Sanford named Adre Jordan Baroz, who went by the nickname "Psycho." He was apprehended at a motel in Gallup, New Mexico, that same month.
Adre Baroz was a serial killer who, over a period of about seven weeks, had murdered five people. His victims, killed between August and November 2020, were Korina Arroyo, 31; Selena Esquibel, 19; Xavier "Zeven" Garcia, 24; Myron Martinez, 38; and Shayla Hammel, 20. Baroz’s methods were brutal, involving shooting and stabbing his victims before burning their bodies in an attempt to destroy the evidence. As the investigation unfolded, it was revealed that Baroz had help from accomplices, including his own brother, in disposing of the bodies.
In April 2021, the 12th Judicial District Attorney's Office formally charged Adre Baroz with the murder of Korina Arroyo, adding to the charges he already faced for the other four killings. The charges against him included five counts of first-degree murder, five counts of tampering with a deceased human body, assault, and kidnapping. After a lengthy legal process, during which he initially entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, Baroz withdrew it.
In February 2024, Adre Baroz, then 29, pleaded guilty to all charges against him. On May 3, 2024, he was sentenced to five consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 140 years in prison, ensuring he would spend the rest of his life behind bars. Three other men, including his brother Julius Baroz and Francisco Ramirez, also pleaded guilty to charges related to their roles in the crimes, such as conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with human remains, and received prison sentences. The case that had terrorized the San Luis Valley was officially closed, but for the families of the five victims, the pain would endure forever.
