Friends and family gathered at a funeral home in Woodbridge, Ontario, Saturday for the visitation of a Canadian couple murdered at a Mexican resort.

Besides grieving, there is some anger in the family about the continuing investigation over the death of Dominic and Nancy Ianiero, whose bodies were found in their hotel rooms with their throats slashed two weeks ago.

Bello Melchor Rodriguez y Carrillo, attorney general for the state of Quintana Roo, is the central figure in the confusion over the case, which has become increasingly mired in rumour and unsubstantiated allegations.

He was quoted Friday as saying there have been "statements by the (Royal) Canadian Mounted Police indicating that the slain person had ties with illicit activities."

But then on Saturday, he denied making the statement. The Ianiero family has denied any link to illegal activities or organized crime.

Mary D'Alessandro, a friend of Nancy Ianiero of 38 years who worked with her at a Brampton, Ontario banquet facility, said the couple deserves better than the swirling accusations.

"It's garbage. They should just stop that," D'Alessandro told the Toronto Star. "I don't believe it; nobody does."

Since the Feb. 20 killings, Rodriguez y Carrillo has previously said the killers were Canadian and the killings were executed in a "professional" manner, but has provided contradictory statements about whether the slayings were related to organized crime.

But Mexican law enforcement officials have begun to shift the focus of the investigation from two Thunder Bay, Ontario, women who stayed in the hotel room across the hall from the Ianieros, to friends and family attending the wedding of the couple's daughter, Lily, the Globe and Mail reported Saturday.

York Region police have received a formal request by the RCMP to question members of the wedding party, according to reports.

Lee Baig, the lawyer for Cheryl Everall and Kimberley Kim, the two Thunder Bay women that Mexican police linked to the slayings, said neither he nor his clients have received any direct contact from any official indicating the women are no longer considered suspects.

The Ianieros' funeral will be held Monday morning at St. Clare of Assisi church in Woodbridge.

With files from The Canadian Press