More than four weeks have passed since we wrote to our DA and county sheriff about the murder of Arturo Duran Salgado and we still have received no response. We’re trying to work with local authorities to have Angelo Nero correct a mistake he made on the death certificate of Arturo Duran Salgado.

Case being Investigated

In a meeting with DA Czajka’s staff (since the DA was unavailable after setting the appointment), Investigator Hogencamp assured us that Arturo’s case is still under investigation. Also a FOIA request on Arturo’s case was denied by Undersheriff Davi because the case is under investigation. Arturo’s telephone and personal effects have not been returned since the case is still under investigation.

Mistake on Death Certificate

There are two appropriate options to check on the Columbia County death certificate that could indicate the status of Arturo’s cause of death determination which are, “1. Under investigation, or, 2. Undetermined”. Good logic and understanding of the English language would dictate that one of these options be chosen instead of ignoring pending investigations and choosing the option “suicide”. Also Mr. Nero wrote “hung himself” instead of “found hung”, two very distinct and different meanings all depending on the placement of one word. I would assume that Mr. Nero should have a better sense of logic and is literate enough to check an appropriate box.

When the sheriff’s investigator was asked why the death certificate was marked incorrectly, he responded that the incident was ruled a suicide and would stay that way until he has evidence of the murder. Nero provided no reason for filling out the form the way he did and refuses to talk about it. DA Czajka’s staff said that Angelo Nero is wrong, and that the DA can do nothing to make the correction (since Nero legally has the final say). They said we would have to file an article 28 against him for incompetence as an elected official. In checking with our lawyer, he said that the case would be complicated and expensive, and we may have been led-on by local authorities long enough so that a statute of limitations to take action may have been reached. Unfortunately we don’t have the financial resources to pay a lawyer. Political action and pressure appear to be the only alternative at this point.

Evidence of Murder

The sheriff’s office has told us that the case is difficult because they consider evidence to this point to be circumstantial. The reasoning goes against our good sense of logic.
1. A disturbance at the location where Arturo was found murdered was witnessed by the next-door neighbor, and took place at 5:45 am on July 13. The neighbors witnessed 2-3 people leave the site and peel out in their car. Arturo’s body was found hanging and he was pronounced dead at 7:25 am. The sheriff said this is circumstantial evidence of the murder since the neighbors did not see the criminals hang Arturo. (I maintain that the sheriff’s saying that Arturo hung himself is also circumstantial since nobody saw him hang himself.) After all, who is going to come off of Route 20 in Stottville to have an argument in front of our house at 5:45 am with a lynched person hanging there?
2. Arturo’s forehead had “point” bruises as though his face had been forced down in the gravel in a struggle, maybe as they grabbed him and positioned him to try and make him faint so they could hang him. The sheriff called the bruises “self inflicted”, and again a comment that is circumstantial because nobody saw him self-inflict the wounds. In spite of this, the autopsy says Arturo’s body showed no signs of a struggle, so the cause of death must be suicide.
3. An internet blog in July, 2015 described how Mexicans sometimes disguise murder as suicide and wet down the victim’s body. Arturo’s body had been wet down.
4. Folks from the Hispanic community (as many as 4) have said that Arturo was murdered, but don’t wish to give evidence because they fear for their lives.
5. Arturo had a positive and futuristic outlook on life, and had no reason to kill himself.
6. Arturo was receiving calls for about 2 weeks before the incident happened which had made him upset. He did not speak about the calls. The sheriff has still not done, or has not shared their investigation of Arturo’s phone nor have they returned the phone so we can investigate. Now more than 7 months later, surely much evidence has been lost.

Why Not Make the Correction?

With these six major points of evidence, it is hard to imagine why Angelo Nero doesn’t want to correct Arturo’s death certificate. Even if the evidence were considered non-conclusive, logic and common sense tell a person that this case is unresolved. Our own authorities tell us that it is under investigation. Just as the authorities say there is no definitive evidence that Arturo was murdered, there is no definitive evidence saying he committed suicide. His case has to be either “under investigation” as the authorities say, or “undetermined”.

We have been told that Angelo Nero is the only person who can correct Arturo’s death certificate. We have not been given any logical reason as to why he doesn’t want to. We can only venture to guess as to why one would refuse to make this correction. We find the situation confusing and an insult to our sense of logic.

Guesses as to Possible Reasons for Mr. Nero’s Refusal to Make Correction
1. Maybe he is incompetent and has no sense of logic.
2. Maybe he has not taken time to study the evidence.
3. Maybe gay Mexicans don’t deserve the same treatment as others.
4. Maybe an uncorrected cause of death (leaving the cause as suicide), will appear better for the authorities. If they can’t uncover any evidence about the crime, their statistics will appear better since the case won’t appear as an unsolved crime.
5. Maybe having a lynching murder in Columbia County looks bad in the crime records and the authorities don’t want that.

We are thankful that the sheriff and DA are still trying to solve this case, and all we ask is that they put pressure on the coroner to do his job correctly. Since we apparently can’t impeach or recall Angelo Nero for incompetence, the only pressure for him to do the right thing might be letters and community pressure.

We have tried to keep this controversy local, but it may be time to make a complaint to the US Attorney General . Many of our neighbors and friends are pushing us in that direction asking how many other cases might have followed this same path. Arturo was catholic, and it hurts his family to see suicide on his death certificate when the coroner knows full well that the case is under investigation. We are simply calling for accountability from this elected official.

Respectfully submitted by Arturo’s three brothers, German, Jorge, and Carlos; Janelle Moran; and Steven McKay.