2021 Cherry Log murder case produces another guilty plea
A tenth person has pled guilty to the murder of a woman in a rental cabin in Cherry Log in 2021.
Edwin Murillo, identified as the head of a drug trafficking organization, pled guilty to murder, kidnapping and violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO, in Gilmer County, Sept. 15, according to a release from District Attorney B. Alison Sosebee.
Rosanna Delgado, of Barrow County, was kidnapped by Murillo’s organization April 16, 2021, according to the release. She was eventually transported to a cabin in Cherry Log which was reserved under a stolen identity.
Members of the organization tortured, killed and dismembered Delgado, according to the release. They attempted to destroy and conceal the evidence through burning the dismembered parts of the body.
Murillo was sentenced to life in prison.
Prior to his sentencing, Murillo was serving a sentence in a supermax federal prison for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute arising out of offenses when he was previously incarcerated in the state prison system.
Murillo, through connections with a cartel in Mexico, was heading a prison brokering organization while an inmate, according to the release. The group “associated together for the common purposes of illegally committing acts of violence and obtaining money and property through the sale of drugs and illegal controlled substances.”
The group distributed controlled substances, including methamphetamines, throughout Georgia.
Five members of the organization had pled to various degrees of involvement in the murder previously. An additional four pled guilty to RICO violations of helping several defendants to flee to Mexico.
Three defendants, Mario Alberto Barbosa-Juarez, Carolina Jazmin Rodriguez Ramirez and Maria Katherine Encarnacion, remain at large and are still being sought, according to the release.
“I would like to thank all of the law enforcement agencies that were involved in the investigation of this case,” Sosebee said.
“The GBI has been exhaustive in its investigation as well as the apprehension of these individuals. Our local and state law enforcement agencies have been invaluable, and I would especially like to thank the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office for their extensive involvement in this matter, as well as the Fannin County Sheriff’s Office and the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance.”
Law enforcement cooperation also involved federal agencies which helped track down defendants who fled to Mexico.