The remains of American missionaries murdered by criminal gang members in Haiti have been returned to their families

Jefferson City, Missouri, USA
AP

The bodies of a young American missionary couple murdered by gang members in Haiti’s capital were returned to their family in Missouri on Friday.

The parents of 21-year-old Natalie Lloyd announced on Facebook the arrival of the remains of their daughter and son-in-law, 23-year-old Davy Lloyd, at the Kansas City airport.

This photo from Brad Searcy Photography shows Davy and Natalie Lloyd. The bodies of the American missionary couple murdered by gang members in Haiti’s capital have been returned to their families in Missouri. Natalie Lloyd’s parents announced on Facebook that the remains of their daughter and son-in-law arrived in Kansas City on Friday, May 31, 2024. PHOTO: Brad Searcy Photography via AP.

“Praise God!” Ben and Naomi Baker wrote in the post.

The couple and a Haitian man they worked with were fatally shot by gang members in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, last week after they were attacked as they left a youth group activity held at a local church.

The third victim was Judes Montis, director of the missionary where the Lloyds worked. The 47-year-old left behind a wife, two children, ages two and six, and a brother who was present the night the murders took place.

Hundreds of people gathered at a shimmering church in Port-au-Prince on Tuesday to mourn Montis.

The killings came as the capital crumbled under the brutal onslaught of violent gangs that control 80 percent of Port-au-Prince. Authorities are awaiting the arrival of a police force from Kenya as part of a UN-backed deployment aimed at quelling gang violence in the restive Caribbean country.

Davy Lloyd spent most of his life in Haiti, where his parents founded the nonprofit Missions in Haiti. According to his obituary, he was kidnapped along with two of his sisters at the age of five. They were released the next day.

“Growing up in Haiti, Davy witnessed the daily struggle of the Haitian people for survival,” the family wrote in his obituary. “He could identify with them, which made him a great missionary in Haiti.”

After graduating from Missouri and then getting married in 2022, the Lloyds moved to Haiti in 2023 to work at the mission.

Natalie Lloyd had a “caring spirit,” according to her obituary. She cared for children at the mission’s orphanage and bonded with a boy who called her “Mama.”

“Natalie had a mother’s heart and loved the children at the orphanage in Haiti from the moment of her first trip there prior to her marriage to Davy,” her obituary said.

People carry the coffin of mission director Judes Montis, killed by gangs along with two of his American missionary members, to the cemetery after his burial ceremony in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. The service also honored the lives of Davy and Natalie Lloyd, pictured on the back of the hearse, a married couple in their early 20s who were at Montis when armed men ambushed them on Thursday evening, May 23, as they were leaving a youth group activity held at a local church. PHOTO: AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph.

A visitation with the Lloyds is planned for Monday and their funeral is scheduled for Tuesday.

For those unable to attend, the funeral will be streamed live. A family friend has said reporters will not be allowed into the church during the funeral or funeral service, but will be allowed to take photos from outside.