A woman suspected of murdering an eight-year-old girl in southern Mexico was beaten to death by a mob that was sparked from protests over the killing. Violent protests began after the body of Camila Gómez was found by a road near the city of Taxco on Thursday. Footage on social media showed police watching on as a woman locals believed to be responsible for the killing was brutally beaten in broad daylight. Two men also suspected by locals of involvement were attacked but survived.
Camila Gómez disappeared after entering a neighbor's house to use their swimming pool. Her mother went to the police a few hours later after receiving phone messages demanding a ransom to free her. She says she gave the police images from the security camera of another neighbor showing the house where the girl was-- but the police ignored her pleas to act.
Camila's lifeless body was found on a local road a day later. Local authorities later confirmed they were investigating a woman and two men for aggravated homicide. Relatives of Camila joined Taxco residents to protest against the police's inaction and demand justice in a case which caused outrage in Mexico, a country with one of the world's highest rates of violence against women. Taxco residents overturned cars, blocked a road and surrounded three people they believed had killed the girl.
Social media footage of the lynch mob showed police looking on as a woman locals believed to be responsible was brutally attacked. Police appear to have been attempting to remove the three suspects from where the mob had gathered. Local prosecutors are treating the woman's death at the hands of the crowd as qualified homicide, according to news reports. A statement from the Guerrero prosecutor confirms police formally arrested one man in connection with Camila's death.
Mourners dressed in white gathered in Taxco on Good Friday for Camila's funeral, and carried the coffin through the city center. The small city (which lies about 105 miles south of Mexico City) is situated in the state of Guerrero, which has been plagued by organized crime. Driven by frustration with ineffective (or corrupt) police, lynch mobs against people suspected of crimes against children are not uncommon in Mexico. In June 2022, a politician was beaten to death by a crowd of around 200 people after accusations he was involved in a child kidnapping were spread online. In November 2018, a shop owner in the central Mexican state of Puebla was burned to death after similar rumours circulated on WhatsApp.
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