A young couple is shot and killed for speaking Spanish

• Iowa couple shot for speaking Spanish.
• The suspect is still at large.
• The Hispanic community unites after the tragedy.

Gunshots abruptly ended a gathering of friends after a guest was reportedly offended when Mario Murillo, 28, and Frances Tillie Gasca, 33, began talking in Spanish, according to authorities in Marshall County, Iowa.

The Murillo family became concerned in the early hours of April 19, after Mario talked to his brother, saying that he was leaving the small party, but he never returned home.

At 1:45 a.m., the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a shooting on 182nd Street in Marshalltown. When officers arrived, they found the bodies of a man and a woman at the scene.

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Iowa couple shot for speaking Spanish

It took only a matter of hours for authorities to identify the two victims, and Murillo’s family and friends learned of his tragic murder.

According to court records, the couple was shot as they were heading to their vehicle.

A witness reported that they were having a conversation in Spanish.

This apparently irked another guest. Though they avoided a confrontation and left the party, the man followed them, shot them and fled.

Ilias Julian Lasley was identified as the shooter

ARMED AND DANGEROUS: Ilias Lasley, 29, is wanted in connection with the killing of two people in Marshalltown early Friday morning.

The Iowa DCI says he is considered armed and dangerous. ***If you see him, do not approach.*** Call law enforcement. https://t.co/Cttc9NAlNB pic.twitter.com/VRg3TOgdZx

— Katie Kaplan (@KatieKaplanTV) April 20, 2024

The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa Department of Public Safety issued a wanted bulletin identifying the suspect as 29-year-old  Ilias Julian Lasley.

«The Iowa DCI says he is considered armed and dangerous. ***If you see him, do not approach.*** Call law enforcement.»

Authorities emphasized they were seeking the public’s help in locating him.

The search spanned over 48 hours until community-provided information led detectives to the 4700 block of Merle Hay Road in Des Moines, where the suspect was hiding.

Lasley was charged for the murders of Mario Murillo and Frances Gasca

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation reported that Lasley has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Murillo and Gasca.

Mario’s friends stated that he worked at Fisher Track Inc to support his wife and five children.

«He was a great person who lived to help others, someone who could light up a room with his presence, capable of brightening anyone’s day,» wrote Alexis Castillo on her Facebook account.

In a gesture of solidarity with the family, she also organized a raffle to help cover funeral expenses.