The Attorney General’s Office of the State of Jalisco arrested Joseph “N” in San Cristóbal de las Casas. He is the victim’s partner and the main suspect in the femicide of Makala Pendley, originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, whose body was found this Monday at the entrance to the municipality of Zinacantán.
How did Makala Pendley’s femicide occur?
During the search operation carried out in the Fátima neighborhood of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, the victim’s seven minor children, whose identities are being withheld, were located and taken into protective custody. They are safe and under the protection of the authorities while the necessary arrangements are being made with the United States Embassy for relatives to take custody of them.
Joseph “N” is the main suspect in the femicide. He is now in the custody of the public prosecutor. Attorney General Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca reported that, in coordination with U.S. authorities, it was confirmed that the alleged perpetrator of the femicide has a criminal record and an outstanding arrest warrant in the state of Alaska, USA. He has been detained for crimes such as assault, robbery, fraud, illegal possession of firearms, intimidation, and rape, among other offenses.
He also faces a search warrant for seven minors, along with the victim, Makala Pendley, issued by the Indianapolis Police Department. Attorney General Llaven Abarca indicated that in the coming hours, Joseph “N”‘s criminal responsibility will be determined so that he can be presented before the appropriate authorities. “We will seek the maximum sentence of one hundred years for this perpetrator of the femicide,” the state official affirmed.
Actions taken by authorities following the femicide in Chiapas
The ministerial authorities continue the process of gathering evidence to strengthen the investigation and fully establish the responsibility of the accused. The ministerial and forensic investigations determined that Makala Pendley’s cause of death was a traumatic brain injury caused by blunt force trauma.
In a second case of suspected femicide, and just 24 hours after the case of the American woman, another case was committed. Brenda del Carmen, also known as Rocío, a 39-year-old mother, was found dead in her home in the Paraíso subdivision of the municipality of Tonalá, reported the State Commission for a Life Free of Violence for Women of the Feminist Collective 50+1. The Collective condemned the femicide of Brenda del Carmen, also known as Rocío, who was murdered in the home she shared with her minor children. According to preliminary reports, neighbors alerted the authorities to the events.
She warned that “nothing seems to be stopping” the femicidal violence that continues to claim the lives of women in Chiapas. The femicide of the past few hours, the 50+1st, is the second recorded in June and the 20th so far this year, an alarming figure that reflects the persistence of gender-based violence and the inadequacy of institutional actions to prevent and eradicate it.
She expressed outrage and sorrow for this latest act of violence that brings grief not only to one family, but to all of Chiapas society. Each femicide, she said, represents a grave failure of the State to guarantee women’s right to live free from violence. The municipality of Tonalá continues to be a hotspot for violence against women and is among the municipalities under a gender violence alert. Therefore, she issued an urgent appeal to authorities at all three levels of government to redouble their efforts in the prevention, response to, and punishment of gender-based violence.
Source: elmanana
