Details emerge in mysterious death of American boy, 16, who was 'raped and murdered

Shocking details have emerged in the mysterious death of a 16-year-old US citizen who was raped and murdered in Paraguay after drinking mushroom tea with friends on a luxurious estate.

Luis Alejandro 'Alex' Villamayor, the American son of a former Paraguayan congressman, was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head two years ago on the family estate of René Hofstetter, 18.

Hofstetter's trial in the murder was delayed for a third time on Thursday, and officials In Paraguay have twice declined FBI assistance.

Now Alex's family is demanding US legislation requiring FBI involvement in the foreign murders of citizens, speaking to the Daily Beast in a shocking report that reveals gruesome new details of the teenager's death.

The case that gripped the South American nation first unfolded on Saturday June 27, 2015 at Hofstetter's family ranch in Obligado, where Alex was spending the weekend with two friends, Hofstetter and 16-year-old Alain Jacks Díaz de Bedoya.

'I thought it would be good for him to go to the ranch and have some fun,' Alex's mother Puning Luk told the outlet. 'I never imagined in a million years he was going to be beaten, raped and killed by his friends.'


Alex Villamayor (left) the American son of a former Paraguayan congressman, was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head two years ago on the family estate of René Hofstetter (right)


Entrance to the Hofstetter estate, where the violent death of Alex Villamayor occurred in 2015



Alex (pictured with his mother) called his father the night before he was found dead, but the call was cut off abruptly and the boy didn't answer repeated calls back

The night before he was found dead, Alex called his father Luis Villamayor, who lives 400 miles from the Hofstetter ranch.

The teens were drinking mushroom tea alone in the house, although Hofstetter's parents were supposed to be there.

The call was cut off abruptly, and Alex didn't pick up when his father tried calling back.

Luis called the Hofstetter parents, who sent ranch hand Matthias Wilbs to check on the boys.

The following morning, Hofstetter called Alex's father Luis crying, and told him that Alex had shot himself, according to the new report.

The local prosecutor rushed to agree the death was a suicide, telling Alex's parents she suspected the gunshot was self-inflicted the same evening he was found dead.

But evidence emerged painting a much more disturbing picture of the case.

Photos from the crime scene showed a gunshot wound to the right of Alex's head while the gun was in his left hand.

No gunshot residue was found on Alex's hands or clothing.

Tests conducted on the gun concluded it had not been fired in a lengthy amount of time.

Alex's mother noticed that his body was dressed in clothes that did not belong to him, including a pair of black sweatpants that were too large for him.

A second autopsy report revealed additional evidence that Alex had been brutally abused.

The medical examiner found deep bruising all over his body, including his genital area, and marks on his body made by an object like a stick.

The autopsy report also revealed that semen was found in his anus.

Inexplicably, a DNA test showed that the semen was Alex's own - a finding that the boy's family has questioned as illegitimate.

Then, if there was any doubt as to foul play, the ranch hand on the Hofstetter's estate, 35-year-old Matthias Wilbs, reportedly confessed to hiding the murder weapon and placing a non-functional gun in Alex's hands.

Phone records belonging to Wilbs and Hofstetter revealed that René Hoffstetter called his father over 50 times starting at 3am, the morning of June 27.

This contradicted the teens, who said they both woke up at 6am to find Alex dead on the back deck.



Prosecutors believe that Alex was murdered some time between 3am and 6am.

As the murder case mounted, Hoffstetter and his parents fled to Germany, saying the teen sought psychological treatment there.

The other teen, de Bedoya, was indicted for murder over two years ago, but was acquitted less than a month later before the investigation had been completed.

Hofstetter and Wilbs are currently in prison awaiting trial for premeditated murder.

Hofstetter's father, who is in hiding, has been indicted on charges related to the alleged murder cover up and illegal gun possession.

Alex's aunt, Kim Luk, lives in Maryland and has called upon her congressmen to change the laws in the US so that no American citizen can be murdered abroad without the FBI getting involved.

Before his death, Alex had planned to live with Luk while he studied business management at Montgomery College.

'More people have to understand what happens to you when you travel overseas,' she told The Daily Beast. 'We're in an administration right now that is seeking Americans first. This is a perfect time for us to change laws.'

Hofstetter's new trial date has been set for February 19, 2018.

The Villamayor family has been torn apart by the teenager's death, none more so than his mother Puning Luk.

Two months after her son died, referring to him affectionately as Ali Boy, she posted an emotional tribute on Facebook.

It read: 'I remember Ali Boy. Two months has come and gone - I still have no answers to what happened to you that night.

'It’s really hard to go on without you. I see you everywhere.

'I am sure if you were here you would have gone to celebrate with Alain last night. It was his 18th birthday.

'Like everyone that turned 18 in your class, you would tell me: “Mom it happens only once in a lifetime."

'And I would say, “Alex still trying to give me good reasons for me to say yes and give you permission to go."

'I remember when we used to cook together. You always had a something to share.

'I loved hearing you tell me about the movie that you’ve just watched.

'You had a photographic memory and I am still amazed how you captured all the details of the movies you saw.

I remember how you could just listen to a song once or twice and remember the lyrics of the song.

'I love how you sang the fast tongue twisting, non-stopping, take no breath rap songs that you loved to sing.

I remember how you loved to go to the concerts.

'I remember how you save up all your money so you can go. I have the used concert tickets and memorabilia that you’ve kept so nicely in a box.

'I miss everything about you. I cry because I have missed two months of laughter, hugs, butterfly kisses, meals together, movies, stories, and hearing you say, "Mom, I am home”.

'I love and miss you everyday of my life. I remember...my Ali Boy.'

She has since driven a campaign seeking justice for her son alongside Alex's father Luis Felipe Villamayor.

Last week, he took to social media to slam Hofstetter's defense attorney Normal Stanley, who is also running for deputy with the Orgullo Colorado party in Paraguay.




Mr Villamayor posted on Thursday: 'Alex's truth will have to wait for politics.

'Once again, the oral trial of the defendants for the murder of my son Alex was suspended. The reason?

'The defense counsel is in political campaign - that is the real reason, beyond the absurd excuses of his presentation, see the poster.

'I mean, Dr Norman Stanley is very busy going from here trying to convince people that he's a great guy, a sensitive person, a "good citizen" worthy of people's votes.

'But it says the word "by their fruits you will know them".

'The reality is that he does not care that Alex's parents, his brothers and relatives and many others who loved him so much, let us continue to, with our condemnation of eternal suffering, going and coming to courts, hoping that this ordeal finishes.

'This is the kind of morally bankrupt people who unfortunately abound in politics.

'People who don't care beyond their selfish and petty political pretensions. You don't realize it seems, this is not a case that has to do with a promissory note, a land or a pet.

'It's about the truncated life of a 16-Year-old boy. A boy who did nothing to deserve that tragic end and his family that deserves at least an answer.'

Family of murder victim in Paraguay demand FBI involvement | Daily Mail Online