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Ingrid Escamilla murder: Mexican social media users express shock

Escamilla was killed in Mexico City by her partner, who removed her organs and dumped them into sewer drain.

Ingrid Escamilla
A woman places flowers to pay tribute after the gruesome murder of a 25-year-old woman, Ingrid Escamilla [Imelda Medina/Reuters]
Published On 13 Feb 2020

The gruesome murder of a 25-year-old woman in Mexico has sparked outrage after the pictures of her mutilated body were published on the front page of a local newspaper.

Ingrid Escamilla was found dead by officers at an apartment in the capital, Mexico City, over the weekend. She was killed by the man she lived with, who also removed her organs and skinned parts of her body, dumping some of her organs in a sewer drain in an attempt to hide evidence of the murder.

Leaked images of her body were published on Monday by the national newspaper Pasala, under the headline: “It was cupid’s fault.”

The publication quickly sparked national outrage and on Thursday the hashtag #IngridEscamilla and #JusticeForIngrid gained worldwide traction.

Citizens also called for massive protests on Friday.

The prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday it was investigating how the pictures were leaked.

Violence against women has triggered protests in the capital in recent months, with demonstrators setting government buildings on fire and daubing monuments with graffiti.

According to official statistics, 10 women were killed daily in Mexico in 2018, the year with the highest numbers of murders of women in three decades, while in the first nine months of 2019 there were 748 victims of femicide according to Amnesty International.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the issue of femicides “was being manipulated”.

“All of those who do not see us with good eyes, take advantage of any circumstance to generate defamation campaigns; that’s clear.. this is the case,” he said on Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico City’s mayor, said prosecutors would ask for the maximum sentence for Escamilla’s killer.

“Femicide is an absolutely condemnable crime. When hate reaches the limits that it reached with Ingrid Escamilla’s [it] is outrageous,” Sheinbaum said on Twitter.

The mayor claimed that the suspect was already arrested.

Separately, a video circulated on social media purportedly showed a man drenched in blood telling the police he stabbed his partner during an argument about his drinking.

Al Jazeera, however, could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

Escamilla‘s brutal murder has elicited an outpouring of support and condolences on social media.

 You are in heaven Ingrid, one user wrote.

Source: Al Jazeera

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