Girl, 16, murdered and burned in Mexico: judge blames tattoos

Surveillance footage seized by authorities in western Mexico captured the tragic moment a 16-year-old girl was set on fire by two male individuals after she was brutally beaten at a home.

The disturbing incident occurred last Saturday when Danna Marian Reyes was hanging out at a friend’s home in Mexicali, Baja California, where she was allegedly stabbed inside a room by at least three of her friends. 

Authorities have so far arrested three individuals, whom have been identified by  authorities only by their first names: Jesús Guadalupe Mendoza, 25; Teresa Michelle Tamarillo, 23; and Kevin Jesús Toscano, 18. 

Police are still looking for a fourth suspect, Jose Octavio Castillo.

While discussing the brutal murder, a state prosecutor stoked criticism by highlighting the fact that Reyes was heavily tattooed. 

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT 

A medical examiner’s report indicated Reyes’ death was caused by stab wounds to the neck and head trauma. At least 45 percent of her body was burned.

José Navarro, 16, told the prosecutor’s office that the group had been smoking marijuana, taking methamphetamines and drinking alcohol since from early Saturday until 2pm local time when Toscano, Castillo and Mendoza locked themselves in a room in the latter’s residence.

Navarro said he and another minor, Carlos Antonio Espinoza, were sitting in the living room when Reyes started screaming and crying for help before one of the individuals shouted at her, ‘we are not playing around, you are f*****.’

Navarro said he attempted to leave but was intercepted in the street by Castillo, who had allegedly departed the house to retrieve a gallon of gasoline.

The witness said Castillo forced him back in the home and the group threatened his life if he said anything after he saw a bag allegedly containing Reyes’ body wrapped with a blanket.  

The surveillance video shows one of the individuals standing atop a wall and dumping the body to the ground. 

A car later arrives and the three detained suspects could be seen dragging Reyes’ body before she was set on fire. The group returned to the vehicle and abandoned the scene. 

Reyes’ gruesome death sparked further outrage when Baja California state attorney general Guillermo Ruíz highlighted the murdered teenage girl’s tattoos during a press conference this week.

‘Sadly in Mexicali, [Saturday], a 16-year-old girl was murdered, but the girl also had tattoos everywhere,’ Ruíz said Wednesday after the video of the attack went viral.

‘This girl we have as a victim from Mexicali had a tattoo of a machine gun or an AK-47 on her forearm and it is very serious that we do not take the precaution of taking care of adolescents.’ 

One Twitter user characterized Ruíz’s comments as victim blaming. ‘It is the same as saying they rape us for wearing a short skirt,’ she wrote.

The Baja California State Human Rights Commission has demanded that the prosecutor’s office not ‘re-victimize or stigmatize victims of crimes such as femicide’ by associating ‘criminal conduct’ with ‘body modifications such as tattoos.’