American Tourist (27) Celebrating Friend's Birthday Stabbed to Death in Mexico

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On Friday November 9, 2018, an American tourist named T.M., 27, from Hermosa Beach, California, was robbed and stabbed to death by three people while celebrating his friend’s 30th birthday in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

A native of Claremont, California, T.M. graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2013 with a double major in communications and sociology and was an active member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

T.M. arrived Wednesday November 7, 2018 at the popular beach town with a group of thirteen friends including many of his fraternity brothers. On Thursday, the group went to a country western bar in the tourist part of town to dance. His friends said that T.M. was last seen dancing with an unknown blonde woman who was not part of the group.

T.M. was separated from his friends and did not return that night. His body was found the next morning in front of the Lázaro Cárdenas del Río park on 30th avenue in the Colosio neighborhood of Playa del Carmen, about ten-minutes from the bar and thirty-minutes from the group’s vacation rental home.

Local news and the U.S. consulate confirmed that at 3 AM there were multiple witnesses who saw three people attack and stab T.M. in the heart. T.M.’s iPhone X, watch, wallet and shoes were stolen.

Mexican authorities have arrested one 28-year-old man in connection with the killing identified as H.N. and goes by the alias “El Chemo,” but T.M.’s parents believe he is a scapegoat by the Mexican government to coverup their son’s murder so tourists would not be scared away from the area.

Friends and family organized a candlelight vigil for T.M. in California and Colorado to remember his legacy.

As reported by local press in Hermosa Beach:

T.M., a 27-year-old Hermosa beach resident, was killed while vacationing in Mexico last week. His grieving parents came to Hermosa from their home in Claremont on Saturday for a vigil near the Pier that attracted about 200 people.

Throughout the evening and at the gathering at the Tower 12 restaurant afterwards, T.M.’s father K.M. heard lengthy testimonies to his son’s character. All of them seemed consistent with the son he had raised, K.M. said, but many of them were new to him.

T.M.’s death gained widespread exposure when Tomi Lahren, a political commentator on Fox News, posted a picture of herself with T.M. on her social media feed, and speculated that Mexican authorities were trying to cover up details of his death. It is not clear when the two met, although she said in the post that she did not know him well. On T.M.’s Instagram feed, several commenters criticized Lahren for politicizing his death.

K.M. said that, although his son was politically conservative, he had liberal friends, and that he had once had a former Democratic politician as a beach volleyball partner. And while he may have kept his many accomplishments close to the vest, he was gregarious and extroverted. On visits to see his son in Hermosa, he and T.M.’s mother were always impressed at how many people around town knew their son.

“He was private, but outgoing. In his social life, he was a leader and a uniter. I kind of wish he would have run for politics. Getting people to work together was his specialty,” K.M. said.

After graduating from Boulder, T.M. got a job in sales for the United Parcel Service. He was stationed in Southern California and initially lived in Brentwood. But after a while he moved to Hermosa, a better fit for him.

He was a devoted gym-goer at Afterburn Fitness, and he enjoyed country music and rooting for the Dodgers, K.M. said. The memorial vigil over the weekend provided an opportunity for his parents to see just what kind of a life their son had built and the lives he had touched.

“It was truly an amazing experience. I broke down in front of everyone and cried. People came up to comfort me, but I told them, ‘I’m not weeping sorrow. This is joy.’ You couldn’t have imagined, this heals so much in my heart,” K.M. said.

T.M.’s father K.M. has since discovered two suspicious transactions on December 7th, 2018 when a man and a woman attempted to use his son’s debit card and PIN number at an ATM in Oklahoma City. Local police have released a photograph of the suspects and are conducting an investigation. K.M. also noticed there was an ATM withdrawal early morning on the day of his son’s murder in Playa del Carmen and believe the perpetrators forced his son to give up his PIN number.

Local and national news networks have covered T.M.’s murder extensively on American airwaves. Most notably, Fox News has taken a particular interest in the case because their television personality Tomi Lahren on FOX Nation had met T.M. once in Hermosa Beach before his death and have since developed a relationship with his parents to tell their son’s story.

T.M.’s parents have appeared on various news networks to warn other families about the dangers of vacationing in Mexico, and have been advocating for the US government to change Mexico’s travel advisory rank from a level 2 country which includes nations like Germany and the UK, to a higher risk level 3 country. T.M.’s parents have written letters to President Trump and every member of Congress to change Mexico’s travel advisory status, and have called on the FBI to investigate their son’s death.

Note: The fifth photo of T.M. with a group of his friends is one of the last alive photos of him. According to the press, it was taken on the group's first day in Playa del Carmen, November 7th, 2018, two days before T.M.'s death.

Note 2: Added second video. Thanks to Menalipa for the find.

TL;DR:

A 27-year-old American tourist T.M. from Hermosa Beach, California was stabbed to death in a robbery by three perpetrators while celebrating his friend’s 30th birthday in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. T.M. was separated from his group of friends while at a country western bar and was found dead the next morning. One man has been arrested but T.M.’s parents believe the Mexican government is using him as a scapegoat to protect their travel industry.

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Here are censored and watermarked photos and a video.

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First photo is a mugshot of “El Chemo”, one of the alleged perpetrators arrested by Mexican authorities. T.M.’s parents believe he is a scapegoat and want the two remaining culprits caught.

Second and third photo are the two suspects that used T.M.’s stolen debit card in Oklahoma City. T.M.’s parents believe they are either the perpetrators involved in the murder, or know the two people that killed their son.

[SimoneFlen']

Excellent thread, mate, how it should be done.

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Images from T.M.’s candlelight vigil in Hermosa Beach, California.

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Local and national news coverage of T.M.’s death. The first four videos are from local news stations. The fifth video is from CNN’s sister network HLN.

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Fox News and Fox Nation coverage of T.M.’s murder.

First picture shows T.M. with Fox Nation host Tomi Lahren. She is in the second and fourth video.

[K53]

Great set of photos. Looks like he lived life to the fullest. Gone way to early

[Razorhead]

Poor lad.

Great set. Thanks.

[Riddla]

Excellent work