The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California has announced that Benjamin Madrigal-Birrueta, an undocumented Mexican national, admitted in federal court to murdering a man and his six-months-pregnant wife as part of a drug trafficking conspiracy. Sentencing is scheduled for March 27, 2026.
According to the plea agreement and charging documents, Madrigal-Birrueta, 22, directed or participated in two Yakima-area killings tied to a drug debt: Cesar Murillo on August 28, 2022, and days later, Murillo’s wife, Maira Hernandez, who was six months pregnant. Investigators recovered both victims’ remains on September 13, 2023, after a multi-agency probe that used geophysicists, ground-penetrating radar, aircraft, laser imaging, chemical soil testing, and cadaver dogs. A co-defendant, Ricardo Orizaba-Zendejas, is charged as an accessory and set for trial on October 27, 2025.
The charging statutes carry severe penalties. Murder in furtherance of a drug trafficking conspiracy under U.S. Code Section 848(e) authorizes a sentence of 20 years to life or death; causing the death of a child in utero under U.S. Code Section 1841 is a separate offense with penalties up to life or death depending on the underlying crime. The office states sentencing is scheduled for March 27, 2026. These quantified ranges underscore federal leverage against cartel-linked killings that threaten communities and the unborn.
Homeland Security Investigations reported that the defendant pleaded guilty on September 22, 2025. They detailed the timeline: Murillo’s killing on August 28, 2022; Hernandez’s luring and murder on September 2, 2022; remains recovered September 13, 2023. Agents seized methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, multiple firearms—including a machine gun—and body armor linked to the organization. Independent confirmation and quantities illustrate the multi-agency cross-border nature of the case and the public-safety stakes.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California prosecutes federal crimes and represents the United States in civil matters in one of the nation’s busiest border districts. The office traces its authority to the Judiciary Act of 1789 and its history to the 19th century; today it prioritizes cartel and smuggling cases as well as violent crime and complex narcotics and firearms offenses while coordinating closely with Homeland Security Investigations (DHS), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and state partners. Its mission is to enforce federal law protect public safety and uphold the rule of law across the district.
