AP - Mexico investigating US teen's death as homicide

From my archive of press clippings:

AP

Mexico investigating US teen's death as homicide

By MARK WALSH (AP) – 20 hours ago

MONTERREY, Mexico — The body of a Texas high school student reported missing by her mother has been found in Mexico and police are investigating her death as a homicide, authorities said Wednesday.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Elisabeth Mandala, 18, and two Mexican men were found dead Saturday in a crashed pickup truck near Mina, a town in the northeastern state of Nuevo Leon.

Autopsies revealed that all three died from severe blows to the head and body, according to a spokeswoman from the Nuevo Leon state Attorney General's Office.

Investigators believe the accident was staged, she said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with agency policy."

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"The two men killed were taxi driver Luis Angel Estrella Mondragon, 44, and merchant Dante Ruiz Siller, 38. The spokeswoman said the two were friends from Cuauhtitlan, near Mexico City, but police did not know why they were in Monterrey with Mandala.

A representative of the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey reclaimed Mandala's body with authorization from her father, the spokeswoman said."

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Associated Press Writer Diana Heidgerd in Houston contributed to this report.

KIAH-TV - Fort Bend County Teen Found Dead in Mexico

From my archive of press clippings:

KIAH-TV

Fort Bend County Teen Found Dead in Mexico

KIAH Staff Report KIAH

7:46 PM CDT, May 4, 2010

A Fort Bend county teen was killed while traveling in Mexico. A Mexican newspaper said the body of 18-year-old Elisabeth Mandala was found with the bodies of two men inside a pickup truck on a highway in Mina, Nuevo Leon, a small town outside of Monterrey on Saturday morning.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

" It looked like a horrific crash, but after taking a closer look, Mexican authorities said the scene was staged and the teen and two men were beaten to death."

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"Mandala's mother reported her daughter missing on May 1. According to HPD, Mandala's mother told them her daughter was possibly headed to Mexico with an unknown person and had mentioned wanting to be a coyote. She also told police she'd recently learned her daughter was an exotic dancer."