The wife of a Winnipeg father of three who was killed while on vacation in Mexico last week says she’s now fighting for justice after two hotel employees were arrested in connection with his death.
Jesse Ropos died in the lobby of a gated Puerto Aventuras resort where he and his wife were staying early Friday morning, just hours before flying home.
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Stacey Ropos tells Global News that what was supposed to be a dream vacation for her and her 36-year-old husband turned into a nightmare after the couple went to a bar at their resort on Thursday.
Ropos says she went to bed just before midnight, but Jesse decided to stay out a little longer, telling her he was going to have another drink.
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Jesse and Stacey Ropos. Submitted/Stacey Ropos
That was the last time Ropos saw her husband alive.
“I was woken up at 3 in the morning by hotel staff who said my husband was drunk in the lobby and that I would have to go get him,” Ropos told Global News this week.
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“As I was approaching I saw all the police tape and a woman stopped me and said, ‘I just have to tell you that your husband is dead.’
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“I just ran out there and of course the police were stopping me and I was just yelling at him to get up.”
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Policias de la SSPYT de Solidaridad assured two subjects for their alleged participation in the death of a person of foreign origin, in a hotel located inside the tourist complex of the mayor’s office of Puerto Aventuras. pic.twitter.com/BO2OrGkAeE
— Seguridad Pública Solidaridad (@SSP_Solidaridad) January 13, 2023
A Mexican police report provided by Ropos and translated by Global News said officers were called to the resort’s bar after a fight broke out between Ropos’ husband and another hotel guest.
The report said her husband died while being restrained by the bar manager and a security guard. The two men have already been arrested. They are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Ropos says an autopsy determined her husband died of asphyxiation.
“They strangled him so hard they broke his trachea,” she said. “So even if they did try to do CPR, it probably wouldn’t have mattered, unfortunately.”
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A spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada confirmed the death of a Canadian citizen in Mexico, but did not provide further details.
Global News contacted the Catalonia Riviera Maya resort, but they declined to comment, citing privacy reasons.
“We just had this amazing love”
Since then, Ropos has been working with a lawyer in Mexico, remaining in the country until Tuesday to attend court proceedings and working to return her husband’s body home.
“I’m just trying to keep at it and keep my laser focus right now to try to get justice for my husband,” she said in a video call with Global News on Tuesday.
Jesse and Stacey Ropos outside their Mexican resort. Submitted/Stacey Ropos
“I’m holding it together. But I’m sure the moment he sees our babies (I) will probably have his breaking point.”
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The couple have three children, two sons, ages 15 and 11, and an eight-year-old daughter, all of whom stayed in Winnipeg while the parents were on a trip.
Ropos says she and her husband ran a local flooring company together. She described him as hardworking and full of life.
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“He was a very loud, boisterous man. You can probably hear him talking from three rooms away,” she said with a laugh. “He had a wonderful smile that just lit up when he was happy or laughing, which he always was.”
Jesse Ropos was originally from Kenora, Ontario, but moved to Winnipeg where he met his wife 17 or 18 years ago.
Jesse Ropos, 36. Submitted/Stacey Ropos
“We just had that incredible love that (few) people have,” Ropos said.
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“We had crazy times. We had some funny moments. We also had difficult moments. I mean we were together for 18 and a half years.
“He was just such a big man, he was so, so, so full of life.”
Ropos advises others traveling abroad to make sure they have “double, if not triple, insurance” before they go.
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She said it had already cost more than $10,000 to prepare her husband’s body to fly home, and her insurance only covered $7,500.
An online fundraiser started by a friend to help the family with expenses had raised more than $17,000 as of Wednesday.
“Even though you think you’re protected, you might not be,” she said.
“People need to know and justice needs to happen.”
— with files from Global’s Marney Blunt, Iris Dyck and Rosanna Hempel
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© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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