Overview

• Authorities charged three relatives with aggravated homicide and kidnapping after a special prosecutor’s unit discovered Fernando’s body in Ejidal El Pino earlier this week.
• Forensic findings show the boy died from a skull fracture consistent with a hammer blow and suffered multiple arm, leg and chest injuries while held captive.
• Prosecutors say Fernando was held hostage for at least eight days in the suspects’ home before officers detected his decomposing body inside a bag.
• Fernando’s mother, who has a speech impediment, faced repeated referrals and inaction by the La Paz Public Ministry and Nezahualcóyotl office before the State Women’s Ministry intervened.
• The case highlights the deadly risks of unregulated ‘gota-gota’ lending practices and exposes gaps in local investigative responses to vulnerable borrowers.