Second body found at Mexico City’s UNAM university campus
Press chief at public prosecutor’s office resigns over “reprehensible” tweets regarding first victim
Less than a week after the body of a young woman who had been strangled to death was found on the campus of Mexico City’s UNAM university campus, a second cadaver was found in a nearby ornamental lake on Monday.
Police have not yet identified the victim, whose corpse was badly decomposed and had probably been in the lake for around one month. Local media speculated that the body was that of a man.
Nevertheless, the appearance of the second body has raised questions about security on the campus of Latin America’s largest university.
The second body has raised questions about security on the campus of Latin America’s largest university
On May 3, the body of 22-year-old Lesvy Osorio was found by a phone booth near the School of Engineering. She had been strangled with the telephone cable, and her hand was still holding her dog’s leash.
Two days later, the authorities had no leads, and began to question whether the victim was to blame, with the Mexico City prosecutor’s office describing her as “an alcoholic and a bad student,” adding: “She was shooting up with some friends,” and: “She had left home and was living out of wedlock with her boyfriend.”
The comments sparked controversy on social networks in a country that is struggling with sexist violence.
“If I get killed, what will they say about me?” The hashtag #SiMeMatan (#IfTheyKillMe) has been used to accompany personal testimony from women wondering how they would be judged, and the university community has called a protest march for Friday to demand justice for the victims of gender violence.
The hashtag #IfTheyKillMe has been used by women wondering how they would be judged
Unlike the hundreds of women murdered each year in Mexico that largely go unreported, Lesvy Osorio’s case has prompted national outrage.
In response, Mexico City prosecutor Rodolfo Ríos tweeted over the weekend that he had ordered the online comments made by his agency’s communications department removed.
Miguel Ángel Mancera, the mayor of Mexico City, warned on Saturday that there would be consequences over what he called the “mistaken” and reprehensible” way the communications department had handled the case. María Elena Cárdenas, the head of communication at Mexico City’s prosecutor’s office, resigned on Monday.
English version by Nick Lyne.
