In Mexico, investigators have apparently caught a multiple murderer. He is said to have placed false job advertisements on Facebook. The job interviews ended fatally for the women.
This case is currently making headlines in Mexico: on the one hand, because it highlights the high number of unsolved murders, especially of women in the country. And on the other hand, because the scam with which the alleged murderer found his victims is particularly perfidious. According to official information, the man, who the Mexican authorities arrested on Thursday, is suspected of being involved in at least seven murders of young women. He is said to have published false job advertisements on Facebook. The women thought they were going to an interview. In reality, a brutal killer was waiting for them.
The authorities presented recordings from surveillance cameras that are supposed to show the alleged perpetrator and his later victims. Ricardo Mejía, the deputy secretary for public safety, described the latest case in the suspected series in detail: A 31-year-old in the state of Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico was killed last month after going to an interview like her apparently accepted. Her body, mutilated beyond recognition, was found four days later and could only be identified by her ID card and DNA.
Her relatives had made her name public in a protest. Mexico is considered a country with a high murder rate, especially of women. According to “CBS News”, 3,751 women were murdered in the southern neighboring state of the USA last year, and the majority of these cases remained unsolved. Again and again there are protests against the rampant violence and also against the police because of the slow investigation of crimes.
In Mexico, many people look for jobs on social networks
Because of the great poverty, many people have to accept jobs that they find in private job advertisements or on social media – and which are difficult to check whether they are serious or not. The alleged serial killer who has now been arrested is said to have taken advantage of this fact.
In the case of the 31-year-old, the woman is said to have gone to a hotel to conduct the supposed job interview. “After that she disappeared,” said Ricardo Mejía of the Public Security Agency. The perpetrator is said to have offered a position for a receptionist with a salary of 90 US dollars per week under a false name via Facebook. At the press conference on the series of murders on Thursday, the prosecutor presented details of the fake job advertisement. Accordingly, answering phone calls was one of the tasks of the alleged job, as was arranging appointments.
In the central state of Morelos, law enforcement authorities are reporting another case in which a 22-year-old student is said to have been lured to a meeting in a café by a job offer. The perpetrator is said to have brought the young woman to a men’s hairdressing salon. There she is said to have been killed. The dead body was discovered three days after the date for the alleged job interview. Apparently she had been sexually abused.
According to the reports on the cases, it is particularly scary that the victims met the alleged murderer in public – where there are many people and where one actually assumes to be safe.
The suspected serial killer who has now been arrested and who the investigators caught together with a woman in the state of Queretaro is said to be no stranger to the police. About ten years ago he is said to have been wanted for rape. Authorities are now investigating suspicions that the man could be involved in other crimes. The reports do not reveal whether and to what extent the arrested woman is involved in the cases.
Sources: CBS News, The Guardian, Veracruz Prosecutor’s Office
