MEXICO CITY (AP) 鈥 The killing of a young woman in Mexico City brought accusations Monday that authorities in a neighboring state intentionally botched her autopsy to cover up for the killer.
The death of Ariadna L贸pez, 27, brought up all the issues that have enraged women in Mexico: officials blaming the victim, poor police investigation and misconduct that has led to a growing number of unsolved killings of women.
Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum alleged that the prosecutor of Morelos state, just south of the capital, had ties to the woman鈥檚 alleged killer though she refused to describe their purported links.
鈥淚t is clear that the prosecutor of Morelos state tried to cover up for the killer of a woman because of his ties to the killer,鈥 Sheinbaum said.
The woman's body was found last week in Morelos, so officials there initially investigated.
Morelos state prosecutor Uriel Carmona said a state forensic exam showed L贸pez choked on her own vomit as a result of intoxication. But officials in Mexico City said Sunday that they had evidence she was slain in the capital.
Carmona鈥檚 office did not comment on Sheinbaum鈥檚 accusation that the autopsy was botched or that it was part of a cover-up.
The Morelos state anti-corruption office announced later Monday that it had opened an investigation into 鈥減ossible crimes鈥 and 鈥渁lleged acts of corruption committed by personnel of the Morelos state prosecutors' office.鈥
On Sunday, Mexico City prosecutor Ernestina Godoy said a new autopsy carried out by Mexico City experts found 鈥渟everal lesions caused by blows鈥 on L贸pez's body and listed the cause of death as 鈥渕ultiple traumas.鈥
L贸pez was found dead on the side of a road last week in Morelos state, home to the city of Cuernavaca, a frequent weekend getaway for Mexico City residents. She had vanished after visiting a restaurant with the suspect and his girlfriend and later visiting his apartment, Mexico City authorities sid.
On Monday, Sheinbaum showed an image from the apartment building's security cameras purportedly showing the suspect walking through a basement garage with the inert body of a woman over his shoulder.
The suspect, who was apparently a friend of the victim, turned himself in to prosecutors in the northern city of Monterrey on Monday and said he was innocent of the killing. Another woman, described as the suspect's girlfriend, was arrested in Mexico City.
Some saw suggestions of police incompetence from the start. L贸pez disappeared from a trendy central Mexico City neighborhood Oct. 30. Her body was not found until days later when cyclists discovered her on a path that leads from Mexico City to Morelos.
Her body was identified by relatives only because the cyclists took photos of the victim鈥檚 tattoos and posted them online in an attempt to help identify her.
On Monday, dozens of women and their supporters marched in downtown Mexico City to demand justice in L贸pez's case.
鈥淲e feel enraged, impotent, above all, mad,鈥 said Omar Rodr铆guez D铆az, the victim's brother. 鈥淭hey treat us like garbage and that is sad.鈥
鈥淲e want justice done and prosecutor Uriel Carmona to pay the consequences of his words. He made a mockery of Mexico and of all women,鈥 Rodr铆guez D铆az said.
Sheinbaum is considered a leading contender to replace President Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador in 2024 elections. The dispute Monday sets up a conflict with the governor of Morelos state, who is an ally of L贸pez Obrador but not a member of his Morena party.
Mexico City has its own problems with women鈥檚 killings. A young woman, Lidia Gabriela, apparently threw herself from a taxi and died on a Mexico City street Wednesday. Witnesses said Gabriela thought the taxi driver was trying to kidnap her and so she leaped from the vehicle
Morelos state has also had a particularly bad stretch of women鈥檚 killings.
On Friday, the bodies of five women were found in the Morelos city of Cuautla just south of Mexico City. The bodies were found at two different spots in the city, known as a weekend getaway for Mexico City residents.
The prosecutor in Morelos state said the killings appeared to have been carried out by a drug gang, possibly as part of some sort of dispute. Carmona said the bodies were found near a hand-lettered sign of the kind often used by drug gangs.
