The Daughters of Juarez: A True Story of Serial Murder South of the Border by Teresa Rodriguez, Diana Montané Page A
Authors: Teresa Rodriguez, Diana Montané
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some of the more decomposed bodies through photographs of the facial reproductions published in the city's newspapers.
Ramona Morales's thirteen-year-old neighbor, Celia "Lupita" Guadalupe, had been identified after the girl's mother recognized the child from a photo of one of Dr. Rodríguez's facial reproductions in the city's newspaper El Diario de Juárez. Authorities believed the teen was abducted while walking home from school one December afternoon in 1997. Her family had intended to pick her up that day, as they normally did, but her grandmother arrived late to find the child had already started out on foot.
Lupita's remains indicated she had been beaten so savagely that the examination of them brought the medical examiner to tears. The young girl's body was in such a state of decomposition that it had been impossible to determine if she had been raped, but the fact that she had been found naked from the waist up led Dr. Rodríguez to believe that indeed a sexual assault had preceded the child's murder. That the forensics expert was able to help the family identify their missing daughter was her only consolation.
Sagrario González's brother knew little about the method of facial reconstruction. Standing in the crime lab that Friday, he carefully studied the replica being presented as his sister's, troubled over the appearance of the teeth. They looked much bigger than they had been when she was alive. But Juan, like many of the country's poor, was too fearful to question authorities about the discrepancy.
His reservations were not uncommon. Many of the victims' families shared the young man's confusion over the protruding teeth and jaw of the reconstructions, unaware that without the surrounding soft tissue, they appear larger than they had in real life. While the technique of facial reproduction was state-of-the-art, it was limited in its capability to accurately portray the fleshy parts of a human being, especially the areas around the gums and teeth. Dr. Rodríguez felt she was sparing the next of kin the horror of viewing the actual skeletal remains of their loved one, yet the families of the dead were complaining about the state's policy of substituting a facial reconstruction for the purposes of identification. Many of the relatives were suspicious of the practice, convinced that authorities were hiding important information by using the lifelike models.
Paula González knew from her son's face that the news was not good. Tears streamed down her face, some embedding themselves inside the deep wrinkles that time and suffering had left, as she watched Juan Francisco descend the cement steps and stride toward her. She listened as he delicately assured her that the clothing police had shown him belonged to Sagrario.
The young man, however, had chosen not to tell his mother of his doubts about the size of his sister's teeth. Only later did he disclose his incredulity.
As if the day weren't difficult enough, Paula González grew even more upset that afternoon when police claimed that Sagrario had been killed while living a secret life. Officers told the family the teenager had been earning a second salary as a prostitute, selling her body to the men of Juárez.
The pronouncement enraged Sagrario's older sister, Guillermina, who found it unbelievable that investigators would make such a statement. The two girls were especially close, even wearing each other's clothes. Furious, Guillermina fought with officers, vowing to disprove their claims and to keep her sister's case in the headlines.
Her mother, meanwhile, was unable to contain her emotions. Upon learning the news, Paula González collapsed in the street outside police headquarters that day.
"Murderers!" she shouted at the uniformed officers entering and exiting the building. "You are all murderers!"
Sagrario would have turned eighteen on July 31, just three months after her
Ramona Morales's thirteen-year-old neighbor, Celia "Lupita" Guadalupe, had been identified after the girl's mother recognized the child from a photo of one of Dr. Rodríguez's facial reproductions in the city's newspaper El Diario de Juárez. Authorities believed the teen was abducted while walking home from school one December afternoon in 1997. Her family had intended to pick her up that day, as they normally did, but her grandmother arrived late to find the child had already started out on foot.
Lupita's remains indicated she had been beaten so savagely that the examination of them brought the medical examiner to tears. The young girl's body was in such a state of decomposition that it had been impossible to determine if she had been raped, but the fact that she had been found naked from the waist up led Dr. Rodríguez to believe that indeed a sexual assault had preceded the child's murder. That the forensics expert was able to help the family identify their missing daughter was her only consolation.
Sagrario González's brother knew little about the method of facial reconstruction. Standing in the crime lab that Friday, he carefully studied the replica being presented as his sister's, troubled over the appearance of the teeth. They looked much bigger than they had been when she was alive. But Juan, like many of the country's poor, was too fearful to question authorities about the discrepancy.
His reservations were not uncommon. Many of the victims' families shared the young man's confusion over the protruding teeth and jaw of the reconstructions, unaware that without the surrounding soft tissue, they appear larger than they had in real life. While the technique of facial reproduction was state-of-the-art, it was limited in its capability to accurately portray the fleshy parts of a human being, especially the areas around the gums and teeth. Dr. Rodríguez felt she was sparing the next of kin the horror of viewing the actual skeletal remains of their loved one, yet the families of the dead were complaining about the state's policy of substituting a facial reconstruction for the purposes of identification. Many of the relatives were suspicious of the practice, convinced that authorities were hiding important information by using the lifelike models.
Paula González knew from her son's face that the news was not good. Tears streamed down her face, some embedding themselves inside the deep wrinkles that time and suffering had left, as she watched Juan Francisco descend the cement steps and stride toward her. She listened as he delicately assured her that the clothing police had shown him belonged to Sagrario.
The young man, however, had chosen not to tell his mother of his doubts about the size of his sister's teeth. Only later did he disclose his incredulity.
As if the day weren't difficult enough, Paula González grew even more upset that afternoon when police claimed that Sagrario had been killed while living a secret life. Officers told the family the teenager had been earning a second salary as a prostitute, selling her body to the men of Juárez.
The pronouncement enraged Sagrario's older sister, Guillermina, who found it unbelievable that investigators would make such a statement. The two girls were especially close, even wearing each other's clothes. Furious, Guillermina fought with officers, vowing to disprove their claims and to keep her sister's case in the headlines.
Her mother, meanwhile, was unable to contain her emotions. Upon learning the news, Paula González collapsed in the street outside police headquarters that day.
"Murderers!" she shouted at the uniformed officers entering and exiting the building. "You are all murderers!"
Sagrario would have turned eighteen on July 31, just three months after her
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