Suspects in murder of woman and her granddaughter lynched by residents in Mexico

Two men suspected of murdering a woman and her granddaughter were attacked by residents on the night of October 24 in the municipality of Ostuacán, in the Mexican state of Chiapas. According to media reports citing official sources, one of the suspects was decapitated and the other was injured.

Local media reported that a crowd stormed the police station and took the suspects away. Other accounts said the men were seized from officers as they were being transferred to the state capital, Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Videos circulating on social media reportedly show a crowd beating and stomping on the alleged perpetrators.

Earlier that day, Chiapas Governor Eduardo Ramírez Aguilar had announced the suspects’ arrests. Following reports of the lynching, he urged residents to “leave justice in the hands of the law,” warning that taking matters into their own hands “does not bring us peace and can instead cause more pain and legal consequences for innocent people.”

The victims were identified as 55-year-old Miriam Cruz Alpuche and her 12-year-old granddaughter, Ariana Scarleth Velázquez. They disappeared on October 19 after leaving their home to check on livestock. The woman’s body was found first, while the girl’s remains were not located until October 23.

According to Chiapas Attorney General Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca, an autopsy determined that the woman died from acute bleeding caused by injuries to major blood vessels in her neck, inflicted with a sharp object.

The prosecutor said the adolescent had been sexually assaulted and died by strangulation. Her body also showed severe head trauma and injuries consistent with a struggle and attempts to defend herself.

The case has prompted outrage in the community, while authorities have warned against vigilante violence and emphasized that justice must be pursued through the legal system.