Mexican prosecutors allege that two men targeted the home of Jonathan Meléndez, keyboardist for Camilo Séptimo, while searching for a cold wallet they believed contained millions of dollars in Bitcoin. The attack killed Meléndez and three other people.
Victims found at family home on September 1
According to IBTimes UK, Meléndez, his pregnant wife Ana Paula Barragán, their 3-year-old daughter Sofía, and 21-year-old domestic worker Aleyda Romero were found dead at the family’s home in Atizapán de Zaragoza, in the State of Mexico, on September 1. The couple’s 6-year-old son survived.
Prosecutors say suspects were looking for a cold wallet
State prosecutors said the two suspects entered the home in search of a cold wallet they believed contained “million-dollar amounts in Bitcoin.”
Authorities identified the suspects as Diego Sebastián and Gerardo, using “N” instead of their surnames under Mexican privacy rules for criminal proceedings. Prosecutors said Diego Sebastián was a business associate of Meléndez and allegedly used that relationship to gain access to the home. He also allegedly offered Gerardo 2 million pesos, about $118,000, to help obtain the cryptocurrency. Both suspects were arrested on September 2.
Cold wallets reduce online risk, not physical coercion
Cold wallets do not store Bitcoin itself. They usually store the private keys that control access to funds, often through hardware devices such as Ledger, Trezor, or the air-gapped Coldcard. While these wallets can protect holders from many online attacks, they do not remove physical threats. Criminals can still target holders directly to force access to their wallets.
Part of a broader rise in violent crypto crimes
The killings are the latest case in a rise in physical attacks against crypto holders. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis documented 46 violent crypto attacks through late June, with more than $30 million stolen in the first half of 2026. Home invasions accounted for 37% of the documented incidents.
Another recent case in the United States
In June, two Texas brothers pleaded guilty to holding a Minnesota family at gunpoint for more than eight hours and forcing the father to transfer more than $8 million in cryptocurrency.