Two Brothers Crash Wedding Reception and Beat Groom to Death

Rony and Josue Castaneda, two brothers from California, have been convicted of murdering Joe Melgoza, a groom who was celebrating his nuptials on Dec. 14, 2019. According to People, Melgoza was sadly murdered by the brothers just hours after saying “I do.”

The wedding reception was being held in a family member’s backyard in Chino, California, where the San Bernardino D.A. 's office claims that the brother’s lived nearby and likely heard the festivities, choosing to show up to the reception uninvited where they were seen taking part in the reception by dancing and snapping photos with women who were at the reception.

USA Today reports that the brothers left the reception but later returned through a trail behind the home, armed with baseball bats; Melgoza and his family were unaware that the brothers had returned. Standing behind a fence, the brothers began to taunt Melgoza, telling him to jump to the other side, and once Melgoza and his family did, the brothers began to attack them with bats and fists.

A family member was able to pull a bat away from one of the Castaneda brothers who ran into an unrelated residence, followed by Melgoza, who ran into the yard unarmed. The brothers were seen jumping the fence of the unrelated residence a few minutes later with a single bat, which unfortunately was never found. 

Upon paramedic arriving at the scene, it was discovered that Melgoza had died within minutes of suffering blunt force trauma to the head. 

Josue Castaneda claims that he was never at the reception but authorities claim that a photobooth image of him and his brother posing with a female guest was found in his front pocket after his arrest, and Snapchat also played a hand in helping authorities find the brothers, who are set to be sentenced later this month on March 13.