Columba Campillo Murder: Five Suspects Arrested In Veracruz Kidnapping/Homicide

On Monday, Mexican officials apprehended four suspects in connection with a kidnapping/homicide of a 15-year-old girl in a case that has roiled residents of Veracruz, Mexico’s third largest state. The suspects, which include four men and one woman, are alleged to have kidnapped Columba Campillo while she was jogging, and later dumping her lifeless body in a vacant lot in the city of Boca del Rio. The accused are expected to appear in court on Wednesday to enter a plea.

The female suspect, Rosa Ileana Mortera Trole, 38, was captured near her residence in the state of Puebla. Trole was reportedly a friend of Columba Campillo’s family before the attack occurred. Allegedly, she told her co-conspirators that the family would have plenty of money to pay off kidnappers because Campillo’s grandmother owns a restaurant that serves rich patrons. It was that “tip,” police say, that compelled the suspects to abduct the girl, luring her into a white Volkswagen Jetta under the auspices of being a taxi. (It’s unclear why the runner would enter a taxi).

The Campillo family reportedly received five ransom calls from their daughter’s own cellphone, in which a male voice demanded a million dollars. It’s unclear how the negotiations fell apart, but the next day young Campillo was found dead in an empty lot, dressed in her jogging clothes and laid down twisted among weeds and trash. Her feet were bound, and some reports indicated that an autopsy evidenced sexual assault. The kidnappers killed Campillo by injecting her with a sedative and suffocated her with a pillow, according to as second suspect, Agni Tonatiuh García Albuerne, 29, who confessed to police in a videotaped interrogation.

Other suspects include Johny Ruiz Inclán, Jesús Eduardo González Castellanos, and Pedro “N.” While authorities did not indicate cartel involvement in Campillo’s death, her murder follows a wave of unsettling violence in the Gulf state. At least 13 bodies, presumed victims of cartel violence, were found in separate incidents last week. In response to ongoing violence, Veracruz governor Javier Duarte addressed the press in a speech.

“In Veracruz, guarenteeing the safety of citiziens is the top priority. As a society we repute these violent acts, and as a father I'm filled with indignation," Duarte said.