California Car Dealer and Father of K-Pop Star Samuel Beaten to Death in Cabo San Lucas
A Bakersfield, California car dealer has been found dead in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Jose Arredondo, a well-respected member of the Bakersfield community who immigrated to the United States in the 1970s from Mexico, was found this week in a home that he owned in the popular resort town, local outlet KGET News reported on Tuesday.
Arredondo was also the father to 17-year-old K-pop star Samuel, according to Yahoo News. Samuel, whose full name is Samuel Kim Arredondo and has also gone by the nickname “Punch,” appeared in his dad’s car dealership commercials as a child and went on to perform as part of the duo 1Punch.
Now living in South Korea, he released his debut solo album in 2017.
Details surrounding the circumstances of Arredondo’s death remain few, though Baja California Sur state prosecutors said his body “showed signs of blunt force trauma,” according to the Associated Press.
No suspects have been publicly identified at this time, Bakersfield.com reported Wednesday, but investigations into what is being called a home invasion are ongoing.
“We are closely monitoring local authorities’ investigation into the cause of death,” a United States State Department official told the AP on Tuesday.
Members of Arredondo’s church are mourning his death, which pastor James Ranger called “murder.”
“Jose Arredondo was murdered last night,” Ranger, the pastor of New Life Church, said on Facebook on Tuesday.
“I will miss you my dear friend….until we meet again,” Ranger wrote in the post, which included an old video of Arredondo, encouraging donations to the church to renovate one of their campuses.
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“In this video you hear his heart for Jesus, the Church, for reaching the needy, and…then at then end…his understanding about the end of life and hearing Jesus say, ‘Well done,'” Ranger added. “He is now hearing those words.”
“One day in heaven, we will be celebrating,” Arredondo says in the video shared by Ranger.
