Joe Melgoza was celebrating his nuptials on December 14, 2019, when he was attacked at his wedding reception, which was held in the backyard of a family residence in Chino, about 35 miles east of Los Angeles.
Two California brothers – Rony Castaneda, 31, and Josue Castaneda, 22, – who beat the groom to death just hours after he said ‘his vows’ have been convicted of second-degree murder in brutal baseball bat killing.
They were convicted of second-degree murder by a jury on February 9 for Joe Melgoza’s death, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office announced in a press release dated February 23.
The brothers did not know anyone in the wedding party, prosecutors said, but lived nearby and likely heard the festivities and went to the reception, uninvited.
At the reception, the brothers were seen socializing, dancing and taking photos with female guests.
At the end of the wedding reception, the brothers left, then returned via a trail behind the home, armed with baseball bats, without the victim and his family knowing.
Melgoza was found suffering from a blunt-force trauma to the head, at around 2.20am on the Sunday morning.
Melgoza was rushed to Chino Valley Medical Center, where he died from his injuries, leaving behind his wife of just a few hours, Esther Bustamante Melgoza, and his daughter, who was 11 years old at the time.
The brothers stood behind a fence and taunted Melgoza, telling him to jump to the other side, the D.A.’s office said.
‘Once Melgoza and his family jumped the fence, the brothers began hitting them all with bats and fists,” the release continues.
‘A family member was able to pull a bat from one of the Castaneda brothers who ran into an unrelated residence. They were followed by Melgoza, who ran into the yard unarmed.
‘A few minutes later the Castaneda brothers were seen jumping the fence out of the unrelated residence with a single bat, which was never found.’
Chino Police Department, the initial agency to respond to the killing first attended to an injured family member, and discovered Melgoza dead in the yard where the Castaneda brothers were last seen.
A medical examiner determined the groom’s cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head, and said he died within minutes of the attack.
