An arrest has been made by Mexican police in connection with the alleged kidnapping, torturing, and murder of seven-year-old girl, Fatima Aldrighett, whose body was found dumped in a bin bag.
Fatima disappeared on February 11 after leaving her school in Mexico City, and her body, showing signs of physical and sexual abuse, was discovered four days later in a bin bag. A CCTV camera outside her school captured her with an unidentified woman, who was later identified by the police after being tipped off by her landlord.
The suspects’ residence was located in the Xochimilco area of the capital, near Fatima’s family home. After using a drone to confirm the presence of the suspect, the police raided the house.
The female suspect had fled her apartment, but photographs, Fatima’s shoes and sweater, and the clothes worn by the female suspect on the day of the abduction were discovered.
Fatima was reportedly waiting for her mother to pick her up outside her school when she disappeared on the afternoon of Tuesday, February 11. The girl had been left unattended outside the school as her mother was delayed in traffic. After the mother arrived, they reported Fatima missing to the police after finding no trace of her in the school premises.
On Tuesday, prosecutors released images of two suspects, a woman and a man, and on Wednesday, police announced the detention of the man and a woman linked to the abduction and murder.
The Mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, confirmed the arrests in a tweet.
“The alleged perpetrators of the femicide of the minor Fátima Cecilia [Aldrighett] were detained in a town in the State of Mexico with the support of the National Guard,” the mayor wrote.
A funeral procession for Fatima took place on Wednesday in Mexico.