‘Not even jail is good enough for what they took away’ Grieving Winnipeg widow seeking justice after two men arrested in husband’s death at Mexican resort
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$1 per week for 24 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/01/2023 (1010 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A Winnipeg widow is demanding justice after her husband was killed at a Mexican resort during the couple’s honeymoon.
Jesse Ropos, 36, died early Friday morning in a lobby at the Catalonia Yucatan Beach hotel in Puerto Aventuras, a gated community about 75 kilometres southwest of Cancun on Mexico’s Caribbean coast.
His wife Stacey said two resort employees restrained Jesse and put him in a choke hold after a fight.
SUPPLIED Jesse Ropos, 36, died early Friday morning in a lobby at the Catalonia Yucatan Beach hotel in Puerto Aventuras, Mexico. His wife Stacey said he was killed by excessive force hours before they were supposed to fly home.
“I want justice. Not even jail is good enough for what they took away from our family and friends,” she told the Free Press via Facebook Messenger while she prepared to board a flight to Winnipeg on Tuesday.
Prosecutors have opened a homicide investigation against two men, 34 and 36, who were arrested after the tourist was restrained and died, according to an incident report prepared by a division of the Quintana Roo state attorney general’s office.
For the Roposes, the vacation on the Yucatan Peninsula was a delayed honeymoon. They got married shortly after the birth of the youngest of their three children eight years ago.
The children did not join their parents on the trip.
Originally from Kenora, Ont., Jesse ran Winnipeg-based J. Ropos Flooring & Interiors with his wife.
She last saw him at a disco at the hotel around 11:45 p.m. Thursday, when she went back to their room to rest up for a flight the next morning.
“He said, ‘I’m going to have one more drink and I’ll see you in a bit,”” she said.
About three hours later, Stacey was awakened when staff knocked on the door and asked her to come to the lobby, where she saw police tape.
“As I saw that, I was then stopped by a woman who said, ‘I’m sorry, but I need to tell you that your husband has died,’” she said.
She was told her husband was kicked out of the bar after trying to fight a guest, but he was allowed to return after being calmed down by a friend.
SUPPLIED The homicide prosecutors’s report, which was given to Stacey, stated the incident happened around 1 a.m. Jesse was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Jesse started going again, so they took him outside. The security guard held him down on his knees, with (Jesse’s) hands behind his back, while the second — a bar supervisor — put him in a choke hold,” Stacey said. “He went limp and they let him go. That’s when he was dead.”
She was informed the cause of death was asphyxiation.
“The one strangled him so hard that they fractured his trachea,” said Stacey. “I get it that they needed to remove the situation, but to use such excessive force was completely unnecessary.
“At the beginning the security guard was restraining him, then the second guy ran up and put him into a choke hold for no reason.”
The homicide prosecutors’s report, which was given to her, stated the incident happened around 1 a.m. Jesse was pronounced dead at the scene.
“I want justice. Not even jail is good enough for what they took away from our family and friends.”–Stacey Ropos
His wife said he loved spending time with family, and his hobbies included ice fishing, cars and working out at the gym.
“He was an incredibly boisterous, friendly and outgoing guy,” she said. “Had a smile that would just make you want to smile. He tried to always stay on the positive side of things.”
After his death, she stayed in Mexico for five days to arrange the repatriation of his body and attend the suspects’ court appearance Sunday.
She was alone for the first 24 hours until a friend flew south to join her.
Prosecutors have been given six more days to compile evidence against the suspects, Stacey said.
TWITTER Prosecutors have opened a homicide investigation against two men, 34 and 36, who were arrested after Ropos was restrained and died.
It is going to cost about $15,000 to bring her husband’s body back to Winnipeg, according to an online fundraising page set up by a friend to help cover expenses.
About half of the bill will be covered by insurance.
“Canadians should, hopefully, try and be more mindful and get double, if not triple insurance because I learned the hard way,” said Stacey, who is also facing the cost of a funeral. “I would like to thank each and everyone for helping me during these tough and trying times.”
She is pursuing a civil case against the owner of the 628-room resort complex, which comprises the five-star, all-inclusive Catalonia Yucatan Beach and Catalonia Riviera Maya hotels.
“I hope that they take better measures on protecting the guests, with an escalated situation or not,” she said. “It’s super important to me that people know what happened to (Jesse), and that even though it’s a resort, it doesn’t mean that you’re truly safe.”
“Canadians should, hopefully, try and be more mindful and get double, if not triple insurance because I learned the hard way.”–Stacey Ropos
A hotel manager declined to comment.
Barcelona-based Catalonia Hotels & Resorts, which owns the property, did not respond to a request for comment.
Consular officials in Mexico are in contact with local authorities and providing assistance to Jesse’s family, according to Global Affairs Canada.
On its website, the federal department advises Canadians to exercise a high degree of caution when they visit Mexico, and to stay in hotels and resorts which have good security.
— with files from Kevin Rollason
chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @chriskitching

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.
Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.