Samuel Kim stands next to his father Jose Arrendondo's coffin. Capture from Samuel's Instagram

By Dong Sun-hwa

A man suspected of murdering K-pop singer Samuel Kim's father has been arrested in Mexico, a Mexican media outlet said Tuesday (local time).

According to SinEmbargo, police arrested the Mexican man ― identified only as "Roberto 'N,'" 50, ― and have been investigating him over the alleged murder.

He is suspected of beating Samuel's father Jose Arrendondo, 58, to death on July 15 at the victim's home in Surf Baja California Sur, southern Mexico. Arrendondo was found with "signs of blunt force trauma," authorities said.

His sister Laura told American media outlet KGET that the suspect was a friend of Arrendondo's for 20 years. But he was not the only one involved in the crime, according to police and the family.

Arrendondo, born in Mexico, moved to the U.S. in 1977 and became a car dealer in Los Angeles. He married a Korean woman and they had Samuel in 2002.

On July 30, Samuel, 17, uploaded photos to Instagram showing him standing next to his father's coffin.

"Happy birthday, dad. Always inside my heart. You are a legend to me. I'll be you in the future. I miss you so much. Love you so much dad. And to all the people and fans, thank you so much," he wrote.

Samuel appeared on Mnet's idol audition program "Produce 101 season 2" in 2017. After the show, he began forging a career as a soloist and released numbers including "One" (2018). He is currently in a legal dispute with his agency Brave Entertainment.