Today, after almost 2 years of asking the authorities of Nuevo Leon to make a second DNA test the allegedly remains of Brenda Damaris Gonzalez Solis, we have made this test a reality.
From October 2012 to date, the Gonzalez Solis family and members of Fuerzas Unidas por Nuestros Desaparecidos/as en Nuevo Leon requested, by all legal means, the exhumation of the remains returned to the family and a DNA sample collect by an independent expert, for a second test that will take place in an independent laboratory.
Brenda Damaris Gonzalez Solis was missing on July 31th, 2011, in the municipality of Santa Catarina, Nuevo León. After suffering a traffic accident, she contacted her family to inform them of the accident she had suffered; during the call, Brenda reported that a Traffic patrol of the Municipal Police was coming, and ended the call. Since then, her whereabouts are not known, and the investigation of the case by the State Attorney have been insufficient to clarify the events.
The vehicle which Brenda used was found outside of the asphalt, with bullet holes. There is no detainee in the findings, although 2 Traffic policemen whom attended the scene were identified.
In the first week of October 2012, the González Solís family went to the place called “La Huasteca” in Santa Catarina, with the information that a grave with human bodies had been found. There, they were threatened by elements of the Mexican Army, that even claimed that the blanket with a picture of Brenda was a “narcomanta”. Days after this event, Juana Solis, Brenda’s mother, was informed of the discovery of human remains claimed belonged to his daughter.
Some irregularities of research can be mentioned:
– The call that informs the family was not made by the State Attorney, but by a human rights organization.
– The delivery of the remains to the Forensic Medical Service of the University Hospital was performed in a black plastic bag and nobody was allowed to see the body.
– The relatives of Brenda were imperatively asked to not veil the remains, but to cremate the body, and move the remains directly to the funeral. The family did not accept the incineration.
– The Attorney says, in his expert opinion, that the remains found were handed over to the Medical Examiner in two bags, in one of which were two human skulls; so, it is recorded that the remains were scrambled to make the lift.
– The Attorney, in his expert opinion, reports that were reviewed remains of two people: a male that dead in an estimated time of 4-6 months, and a female with an estimated death time period of 10-12 months. The female remains were found in October 2011, so the estimeted death should happen between October and December 2010, 7 months before Brenda disappeared.
– The Medical Examiner says no cause of death, claiming that the remains do not allow a conclusion about it.
– The clothes that were found with the remains, which were rejected by the Attorney General, were not recognized by the family, because did not fit with the appearance or size of Brenda.
Given these and other irregularities, such as that on the death certificate has been placed that the person to whom the remains belong “died at his home,” the family went to two technical reviews to reveal if the actions of the Attorney could be provided as fully valid. The conclusion of the technical advice was that there was reasonable doubt about the identity of the remains.
Independent experts who support the exhumation of the remains are part of the Equipo Peruano de Antropologia Forense (EPAF). The analysis of samples will be performed by the organization Gobernanza Forense Ciudadana, whose members have been involved in similar cases in different countries.
The aim of this second test, in exercise of the rights stated under the Federal Act of Support to Family Relatives, is to give certainty about the identity of the remains delivered by the Government of Nuevo Leon to the Gonzalez Solis family. Also, ensure that the State Attorney meets onwards with all identification protocols recognized by the Mexican State.
Nuevo Leon, September 9th, 2014.
2 Comentarios
Es una verguenza que los ciudadanos mexicanos tengamos que recurrir a otros paises para lograr la identificacion plena de un cadaver. Este caso en particular es una persona, pero el caso de Cadereyta Jimenez, Nuevo Leon se habla de 49 cuerpos mutilados, donde al parecer solo 8 hondureños han sido identificados..Los ciudadanos mexicanos les estamos agradecidos…
Gracias a usted, comentarios como el suyo nos alientan a seguir trabajando.