Woman beheaded because family ‘wouldn’t pay ransom’

Lucia Suarez Sang Fox News

The decapitated body of Susana Carrera was found last Wednesday inside a bag in a carpark in the coastal Mexican city of Coatzacoalcos in the state of Veracruz.

She had been kidnapped a week earlier outside a friend’s house where she had gone to pick up one of her children.

Harrowing security camera footage showed her captors pulling up in a car, grabbing her and quickly throwing her into the car in a matter of seconds, Fox News reported.

The kidnappers left a note alongside the woman’s decapitated body, according to local media, that read: “This happened to me because my husband played the tough guy and didn’t want to pay my ransom.”

The family confirmed they could not collect the funds for the ransom, according to the Heraldo de Mexico newspaper. The kidnappers reportedly asked for a ransom of 4 million Mexican pesos (A$291,548).

Hours after her body was found, Ms Carrera’s husband, Luis Manriquez, confirmed her death in a message on social media.

“Thank you very much to everyone for your prayers and wishes for my wife Susana Carrera to return home. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to and she passed away.”

The couple owned the aluminium company Pezaliminio, which had an office in Coatzacoalcos. It’s unclear why the kidnappers targeted Ms Carrera.

Local media shared photos that purportedly showed Ms Carrera’s body and a copy of the note. Prosecutors in Veracruz announced on Monday they had launched an investigation into how the photos — which were probably taken at the medical examiner’s office — were leaked to media.

“The Office of the Attorney General of the state will not tolerate situations like this one, which constitutes a re-victimisation and a breach of the duty of secrecy within the investigation,” prosecutors said in a statement.

No arrests have been reported so far. The number of kidnappings has reportedly risen in the city of Coatzacoalcos, with 49 reported in 2018. More than 160 homicides were reported last year.

This article originally appeared on Fox News and was reproduced with permission.