Arizona Rancher Declares 'Nightmare Over' After Migrant Murder Case Dropped

An Arizona rancher accused of fatally shooting an unarmed Mexican migrant expressed relief at the news that prosecutors would not retry him after his trial ended in a deadlocked jury.

"The nightmare is over. The nightmare is over," George Alan Kelly told a reporter from Tucson TV station KGUN as he was leaving the courtroom on Monday.

The 75-year-old had been on trial for nearly a month after being charged with the second-degree murder of 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea.

On January 30, 2023, Kelly had come across a group of migrants on his property, a nearly 170-acre cattle ranch in Nogales, Arizona, near the border with Mexico. The rancher fired shots from an AK-47 rifle and Cuen-Buitimea was struck and killed.

Prosecutors said Kelly recklessly fired nine shots toward the group of men, while Kelly said he fired warning shots in the air, but didn't shoot at them directly, according to The Associated Press.

The trial ended last week, with jurors unable to reach a unanimous decision after two days of deliberations, leading to Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink declaring a mistrial.

When asked whether he was worried that people would protest or turn up at his house following the decision, Kelly responded: "God will look after me like he always has."

The rancher was met with protesters as he entered the courtroom on Monday, with one holding a sign that said "Gabriel was a human being," referring to the migrant.

The Santa Cruz Attorney's Office told Newsweek in an emailed statement: "Because of the unique circumstances and challenges surrounding State vs. George Alan Kelly, the Santa Cruz County Attorney's Office has decided not to seek a retrial in this matter."

"However, our Office's decision in this case should not be construed as a position on future cases of this type," the statement continued.

Kelly's defense attorney Brenna Larkin told Newsweek in an emailed statement that his team was "very pleased" with the decision.

"Mr. Kelly and his wife have been living through a nightmare for over a year, and they can finally rest easy. It was encouraging to hear that the jury only had one holdout for a guilty verdict. The rest of the jurors were decided on declaring Mr. Kelly not guilty," she said.

She said that Kelly is an "innocent man" who "never shot anybody."

"The investigation in this case was conducted poorly from the very beginning. As a result, it is extremely unlikely that we will ever be able to find out who actually killed Gabriel. While that injustice to Gabriel and his family is unfortunate, we are at least pleased to know that the injustice will not be compounded by scapegoating an innocent man."

Kelly had previously rejected a plea deal that would have reduced the charges to one count of negligent homicide if he pleaded guilty.

A hearing will be scheduled at a later date to hear a defense motion to dismiss the case with prejudice.

The development comes amid ongoing tensions over migration and border security in the U.S.

Migration has surged in recent years—the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that there were around 9.8 million migrant encounters recorded between October 2019 and January 2024.

The issue is likely to prove influential for voters at the ballot box in November.

Polls show that immigration is one of President Joe Biden's major vulnerabilities, and the presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump has been clear about his plans for a stricter approach.

Trump generated criticism in January for describing migrants as "poisoning the blood of our country."

Update 4/30/24, 11:04 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from the Santa Cruz Attorney's Office.

Update 5/01/24, 6:20 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include a statement from Kelly's defense attorney.