Two suspects in the killing of four people in Mexico allegedly sought a cold wallet they believed contained millions of dollars in Bitcoin, according to an update from the Attorney General's Office of the State of Mexico (FGJEM) reported by La Jornada on Saturday. The suspects, Diego Sebastián and Gerardo, whose surnames were withheld, are scheduled for a court hearing on Wednesday, when a judge will decide whether there is sufficient evidence for criminal proceedings to continue, Diario de México reported on Sunday.
FGJEM announced the arrests in a Sept. 2 X post. Prosecutors accuse the men of killing Jonathan Meléndez, keyboardist for the rock band Camilo Séptimo, his pregnant wife, his daughter and an employee in their home in the municipality of Atizapán de Zaragoza. The family's golden retriever was also killed. If convicted, the suspects could face 25 to 70 years in prison for each homicide victim, according to La Jornada.
Mexico's security secretary, Omar García Harfuch, said in a Sept. 2 X post that one suspect was a business associate of one of the victims and allegedly used that relationship to enter the home.
The case is part of a broader rise in violent crimes targeting cryptocurrency holders. Wrench attacks involve violence or threats to force people to hand over crypto assets or access to wallets. CertiK said the first half of 2026 saw 20 publicly reported home invasions targeting crypto owners, up from one incident in the same period a year earlier. The firm identified 52 wrench attacks worldwide in the first half of 2026, a 33.3% increase from 39 in the same period in 2025.
Chainalysis estimated that criminals stole more than $30 million in crypto through wrench attacks in the first half of 2026. In October 2025, attackers killed Roman Novak, a convicted Russian crypto fraudster, and his wife after kidnapping them and demanding access to crypto wallets, according to Russian news outlet Fontanka.
CertiK said wrench attacks rose 75% in 2025 to 72 verified cases worldwide. France recorded the most attacks last year, with 19 confirmed incidents, while Europe accounted for about 40% of all attacks globally in 2025.
