A California man who was celebrating his wedding over the weekend was brutally murdered by two men who weren't invited to the reception.
Joe Melgoza, 30, was celebrating his recent nuptials with his bride and family at a backyard wedding reception at his sister-in-law's home in Chino, California, when two men, showed up, uninvited. The pair, identified as Rony Aristides Castañeda Ramirez, 28, and his brother, Josue Castañeda Ramirez, 19, didn't know the groom, but lived nearby the family said.
The two men were asked to leave, but later returned allegedly carrying bats.
“Those cowards came back with bats. They were in the alley and it was dark… My brother tried to go get them. They pulled him into the house and they killed him,” Andy Velasquez, Melgoza’s brother, told NBC LA.
"My brother did not deserve to die like that, he was a good man, he was a solid man," Velasquez said.
Melgoza's body was discovered in the backyard of a nearby home and was taken to a local hospital where he later died from blunt head trauma, Chino police said.
The Ramirez brothers were both arrested Sunday afternoon "without incident," police said.
In addition to his bride, Melgoza also leaves behind an 11-year-old daughter of whom, he had sole custody. The family has launched a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral costs and support his daughter.
Photo: GoFundMe