College Student's Family Says He Was Murdered on Spring Break in Mexico — But Authorities Disagree
Nearly two months after a 21-year-old American college football player was found dead while on spring break in Mexico, local authorities said he was not murdered as his family believes he was, PEOPLE confirms.
Andrew Dorogi, a senior studying economic at Amherst College in Massachusetts, died on March 15 after being found on train tracks in Mexico City, according a statement released by the Mexican government and obtained by PEOPLE.
Mexican authorities said Dorogi died of electrocution, according to the the Boston Globe and The Republican newspaper.
He was electrocuted after falling onto the tracks at the Camarones train station, ABC News reports, citing investigators.
Dorogi had spent his vacation in Los Cabos, in western Mexico, before heading to Mexico City for a connecting flight to New York, Paulina Chavez Alonzo, a spokeswoman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C., said in the statement to PEOPLE.
“However, he never took the flight,” Alonzo said. “Instead, he exited the airport and asked for directions to the metro station, according to witnesses’ accounts and video footage.”
“The criminal investigation report confirms that the body did not had any signs of violence, physical aggression or defending wounds,” Alonzo said. “Therefore, a murder has been ruled out as cause of death.”
Further details about Dorogi’s death and the events leading up to it remain unclear, such as why he would have wanted to leave the airport.
Authorities released little information about the inquiry into Dorogi’s death until recently, according to the Globe. Their update last week came after Dorogi’s family told the paper on May 4 that they think he was murdered.
• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
“I don’t think the Mexican government is really doing that much,” Dorogi’s grandfather Joseph Dorogi said in an interview then.
“I’d like to know what happened,” Joseph said. “The one thing I know is he’s gone and there’s nothing we can say or do that can change that. That’s the way his parents feel and assessing the blame doesn’t bring him back. He’s gone.”
At the same time that Mexican authorities said Andrew was not a murder victim, they also said they had “offered to convene a meeting” between his family or representatives and the investigators “in order to provide an explanation of the incident.”
“In addition, they have offered to show the available videos to the family,” Alonzo, the embassy spokeswoman, continued in the statement obtained by PEOPLE.
“The Government of Mexico will closely continue following the investigation of this regrettable case,” she said.
Andrew’s family could not be reached by PEOPLE on Monday.
In his obituary, Andrew, a Cleveland native, was remembered for “his wit, intelligence, athleticism and kind heart.” He was set to start working at Wells Fargo in June, after he graduated.
“He was a ball of positive energy,” said one college teammate, according to the Globe. “He had an infectious smile — just always seemed to be upbeat and positive.”
His prep school hockey coach reportedly said he “never shied away from anything.”
Andrew is survived by his parents and two siblings.
“Andrew’s smile radiated the joy and faith with which he lived his life. … We will forever treasure the blessing of our time with Andrew,” his family wrote, “and the precious memories of how he enriched our lives and fortified our spirits.”
