Lesbian Couple Murdered in Mexico

Lesbian Couple Murdered in Mexico
Image: Images: Facebook

A Lesbian couple has been found murdered in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico on Sunday. 

Warning: This story has details of violent murder, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.

Nohemí Medina Martínez and Tania Montes Hernandez were tortured, shot dead and dismembered. Their bodies were left in plastic bags along the Juárez-El Porvenir Highway.

The newlyweds were both 28-years-old, Mexican citizens and mothers of three children. They were living in Ciudad Juárez but travelled across the border to El Paso, Texas to see their relatives.

Authorities made the grisly discovery on Sunday in the Mexican border city, after their relatives reported them missing.

Couple were Two of Nine Women Who Have Been Killed Since the Start of 2022

Spokesperson Oscar Martínez said in an interview that he was not allowed to comment further on the “details” of the “economic activity” or tell if it was related to “organised crime” because the “investigation was ongoing.”

Mexican newspaper, El Diario reported the couple were two of nine women who have been killed in Ciudad Juárez since the start of 2022.

The Washington Post reported on Thursday that the attorney general’s office of the state of Chihuahua said the killings were not a “hate crime.”

Roberto Javier Fierro Duarte, the attorney general of Chihuahua, said in a news release, “In this case, the investigation lines are linked to the economic activity that both victims carried out and with the people they related to in that environment.”

Two More Bodies Found

The Daily Mail reported Ciudad Juárez authorities found the bodies of two other women at an “intersection in the neighbourhood of Patria-Zaragoza” on Tuesday. They had been tortured and shot. One was declared dead at the scene, while the other died in hospital from a gunshot wound.

LGBTQI and women’s groups have expressed their concerns about the killings.

Comité de la Diversidad Sexual de Chihuahua, an LGBTQI rights group, wrote, “people of sexual diversity are questioned, including their existence through heteronormative discourse. They have the right to a life free of violence in which they exercise all their rights, in addition to living without fear or fear of rejection and aggressions that can unfortunately escalate to hate crimes.”

‘Concern is that Authorities will Absolutely Do Nothing’

Comité de la Diversidad’s director, Karen Arvizo told the Daily Mail she is worried the murders of Martínez and Ramirez will “go unsolved like many other hate crime incidents across Mexico’s LGBT community in the past.”

“The concern is that authorities will absolutely do nothing,” Arvizo said. “We feel like we are treated like second-class citizens and that we really don’t matter.”

According to academic studies, an estimated 92 per cent of violent crimes, including homicide, go unresolved in Mexico.

If you feel distressed reading the story, you can reach out to support services.

For 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14

For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.

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