A US rancher is accused of killing a Mexican migrant passing through his land on the Arizona-Mexico border. will not appear before the second trial, after the first was found to be invalid by a jury, as announced this Monday by the prosecutor’s office.

George Allan Kelly A 75-year-old man has been charged in the January 2023 shooting death. Gabriel Kuen Buitimea, 48 years old when he passed through his lands with a group of migrants.

Prosecutors told Santa Cruz County Superior Court today that will not seek a new trial against Kelly, after the jury was unable to reach a verdict at the first trial due to the “unique circumstances and issues surrounding” the case.

Prosecutor’s decision releases Kelly from all charges, prompting outrage among migrant rights groups protesting outside the court.

The ranch owner encountered charged with second-degree murder in connection with the migrant’s death. But due to doubts of a jury member, a verdict was not reached.

In an interview with TelemundoKuena Buitimea’s daughters expressed regret over the outcome of the trial and explained that their father He crossed the border only “from time to time” to find work.

They also said that Kelly “he had no right” to kill his father only because it crossed their lands.

During the trial, which began in early April, prosecutors said Kelly, 75, “intentionally” shot at a group of migrants without any warning.

The migrant died while receiving at least one gunshot wound to the back.

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The prosecutor’s office claimed that a group of migrants who were with a Mexican They posed no danger to Kelly’s life. or his wife when he fired an AK-47.

Men in camouflage clothes and with backpacks in their hands. They walked parallel to the rancher’s house. and over a distance approximately the size of an American football field (more than 100 meters). None of them had firearms.

The rancher’s lawyers assured that the man fired to intimidate the group at least six people who were on their lands.

The bullet that killed the Mexican was never found. Thus, the defense argued that there was a possibility that a group of traffickers could attack them in order to steal “their goods.”

And this despite the fact that in place No weapons or drugs were found.

The rancher found the Mexican’s body a few hours after the events. during a tour of their lands. However, the first time he called the Border Patrol, not 911, he said he had found the body of an “animal.”

The case has attracted attention on both sides of the border due to controversy caused by followers of former President Donald Trump (2017-2021), who call Kelly a “hero” and a “patriot” because he defended his lands from the “invasion” of migrants and drug traffickers.

Kuen Buitimea was the father of seven children. He is a native of Buaysiacobe in southern Sonora, where he is survived by his mother, wife and seven brothers, who depended on him to support the family.

According to immigration records, the victim had entered the United States illegally several times and had already been deported. last time in 2016.

(according to information from EFE)