The protagonist of the story. He is killed the day after Angela Vicario's wedding.
The dishonored bride. She becomes a seamstress after being returned home on her wedding night. She was very beautiful in her youth.
The more serious of the two twins. It is his idea to kill Santiago Nasar. He spent time in the army, and after being released from prison he joins the army once again.
He is the twin who insists that the twins go through with the crime. He is betrothed to Prudencia Cotes, who he marries when he is released from jail.
The man who marries Angela Vicario. He comes from a wealthy and prestigious family. When he arrives in town, he is described as having a slim waist and golden eyes.
The mother of Angela Vicario. When her daughter is brought home by Bayardo San Roman, after he discovers she is not a virgin, Purisima beats her daughter; she is a strict mother.
He is Angela's father. He used to work as a goldsmith until the strain of the profession made him go blind. He dies shortly after his twin sons are sent to prison.
Santiago's mother. She has a well-earned reputation as an interpreter of dreams. She never forgives herself for misinterpreting the dream about trees and birds that her son had the night before his death.
An elegant whore with eyes like an "insomniac leopard." She eats excessively to mourn Santiago Nasar's death.
Pablo Vicario's finance. She says she would not have married Pablo if he had not upheld the honor of his sister by killing the man who took her virginity.
Santiago's father, an Arab. He seduced Victoria Guzman when she was a teenager. He taught his son the art of falconry and his love of firearms.
The Nasars' cook. She violently guts rabbits on the morning of the murder. She had an affair with Ibrahim Nasar when she was a teenager.
The proprietress of the milk shop where the Vicarios wait to kill Santiago. She is an insightful woman, and can tell that the Vicario twins are tired and are killing Santiago only out of obligation.
Clothilde Armenta's husband. He doesn't listen to her when she warns him about the Vicario twins' plan. He dies of shock at age eighty-six when he sees the brutal way that the Vicarios murder Santiago.
Victoria Guzman's daughter. Santiago desires her sexually, but Victoria watches carefully to make sure he does not do anything to her.
The narrator's sister. She feels that Santiago Nasar would be a good catch for any girl, since he is young, handsome, and wealthy.
A friend of the narrator's and of Santiago Nasar. He runs all over town at the end of the book trying to warn Santiago of the Vicario's plan.
The narrator's younger brother. He plays the guitar very well, and goes around with Santiago, Cristo, and the narrator when they go to serenade Bayardo and Angela on the night of their wedding.
The local priest, who forgets to warn Santiago Nasar about the plot against him.
The lazy Colonel who fails to prevent Santiago's murder because he is checking on his game of dominoes.
The local butcher who alerts a local police officer that the Vicario brothers are talking about murdering Santiago.
Bayardo San Roman's parents. Alberta Simonds used to be the extremely beautiful; General Petronio San Roman and she drive up in a model T Ford. The General is impressively bedecked with war medals.
An Arab man who warns Cristo Bedoya about the Viacrio twins' plan to murder Santiago. He and Santiago have an Arabic play on words that they exchange whenever they meet.
The pretty, but uninteresting woman that Santiago Nasar was betrothed to marry.
The father of Flora Miguel. He is the one who warns Santiago that the Vicario brothers are waiting to kill him.
A widower who owned the most beautiful house; he died of sadness because he sold it; the house held all of his dead wife's possessions.
The narrator's eventual wife (and the name of Gabriel García Márquez's real wife). The narrator proposes to her at Angela and Bayardo's wedding party.
