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MexicoYoung Depanhi died of suffocation
The results of a second autopsy on the teenager, whose death sparked outrage in the country, bolster the thesis of a homicide.
A man throws a stone during a march for justice for victims of gender-based violence and femicide after the death of Debanhi Escobar in Mexico City, Mexico, on April 24, 2022.
Reuters
Teen Depanhy Escobar, prompting his death A wave of anger in Mexico, died of suffocation, according to partial results of a new autopsy released Monday that bolster the thesis of homicide, according to his family. Debanhi Escobar, 18, was found dead in a motel sink on April 21, 12 days after she disappeared. The teenager’s body was exhumed on July 1 for further investigations to determine the cause of her death.
No sexual violence
Felipe Takeshi, director of the Institute of Forensic Sciences of the High Court in Mexico City, said his death was “caused by asphyxiation”. The agency is participating in an investigation led by a private investigator hired by the Escobar family. An expert estimated that the law student had been dead for three to five days before her body was found, and ruled out that she had been sexually assaulted. A previous forensic report requested by Debanhi Escobar’s family concluded that the young woman was raped and murdered. But “there is no evidence to support the existence of sexual violence,” said Mr. Takeshi said.
A second autopsy
The new autopsy, approved by federal, regional authorities and Depanhy’s family, aims to “regularize the medico-legal criteria for death” based on the first official autopsy – carried out by the Nuevo Leon state prosecutor – and personal expertise requested by the family. A first autopsy concluded that the teenager had died of blunt force trauma to the head, but could not specifically determine whether it was an accident or a homicide. Following the new report’s findings, Debanhi’s father, Mario Escobar, confirmed that his daughter was murdered. “My daughter did not die accidentally, that is my assumption,” he told reporters, adding that he was still waiting for the results of other tests carried out in the UK. “Any feminism process, because it’s misogynistic, is long, but I have peace of mind to see that we’re making progress,” she said.
A wave of rage
The Debanhi affair has sparked a wave of outrage in Mexico, which has suffered a three-decade femicide crisis (around 10 women are murdered every day). A photo showing Depanhy Escobar standing alone in the dark on the side of a highway after an argument with a taxi driver the night she disappeared has gone viral.
(AFP)
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