Three police officers removed and investigated in the Keila Nicole case

BAJA CALIFORNIA (apro).- Three municipal police officers were removed and are being investigated for alleged failure to respond to the case of Keila Nicole Duarte Acevedo, a 13-year-old girl who was found dismembered in the town of El Rosario, in San Quintín, Baja California.

This was reported by Alberto Sarabia Espinoza, Director of Public Safety and Citizen Protection for the Municipality of San Quintín, at a press conference chaired by Mayor Miriam Cano Núñez on Friday, July 4.

"There are three officers involved in this intervention. In fact, they are also the first responders, two of them... were removed from their workplaces. Unfortunately, this type of situation occurred, and they should no longer be there," said the municipal official.

Sarabia Espinoza stated that they will do "what the guidelines dictate" and that the case will be "referred to the Office of the Comptroller."

"Because of the type of violations, which they consider serious, they will determine the cause and conduct the relevant investigations. If necessary, they will refer it to the Disciplinary Committee—which I chair—and there the collegiate body will review it and determine the appropriate sanction," the director added.

For her part, Municipal President Miriam Cano Núñez emphasized that the incident "pains us as a community" and "commits us as a government."

"We recognize that there were omissions in the initial response, and we will not cover up or minimize them. I want to tell you that there will be consequences, and we will take them to the final level. And within the scope of our powers, we will act responsibly and without hesitation," he stated.

The mayor acknowledged the work of the Baja California State Attorney General's Office (FGE) in the investigation required by the case and declined to comment on the department's ongoing investigation.

According to reports circulating on social media, Keila Nicole's relatives went to the police station to request assistance from the municipal police after receiving an alert message from the young woman, but were apparently denied immediate assistance, telling them they had to wait 72 hours for the corresponding protocol to be activated.

The public prosecutor of the municipality of San Quintín, Juan Pablo Guerrero Gamboa, stated that the agency under his charge had officially opened an investigation into the failure to perform duties that correspond to public servants, such as caring for the public.

"We must understand that part of our obligation is to protect the people, and this regrettable act leads us to open the corresponding investigations into the public servants who, in this case, are public security personnel," he stated.

Zeta Weekly reveals investigative data

Before her death, Keila Nicole was accompanied by her boyfriend, Cristian Iván “N,” 16, and even sent a message to her friends, because she felt nervous because the young man was carrying a stick, and she even asked for help in case they didn't know about her, revealed an investigation by Tijuana's Zeta Weekly this Friday, July 4.

According to information collected by journalist Karla Lorena Lamas Contreras, the 13-year-old girl went to an area known as "La Cueva," and state authorities are investigating the involvement of an adult in the femicide.

Keila "managed to send a text message to a friend, in which she wrote: 'I'm nervous because (Cristian) is carrying a stick. If I don't show up soon, let my family know.' The femicide alert message didn't reach the hands of adults, but was forwarded among acquaintances, all minors, who didn't act until the next day, when they saw the desperate mother," the latest edition of the weekly reports.

The investigation also points to the municipal police's refusal to provide support and instructions to wait 72 hours before activating the protocol. Neighbors even went to Cristian Iván's home and attempted to lynch him, but were stopped by a uniformed officer.

Other points in the report mention that "one of the body parts was found 500 meters away and another 600 meters away," and that a soldier had to wrestle with a dog to retrieve it.

"When they went out into the open field, to the area the minors had indicated, they found a dog holding one of the legs in its mouth, so one of the soldiers had to maneuver it to release it. From there, they walked 300 meters further and located a second leg," the report states.

The discovery of the stick, which is being investigated as the probable weapon of the femicide, is also highlighted, as is a profile of the young man, who is described by his friends as someone obsessed with Santa Muerte, and who likes "to make comments like he would like to 'dismember' a person, and that his father 'dismembered people.'"

Further on, the first statements - and contradictions - of Cristian Iván "N" are cited, who admitted to having been in "La Cueva" with Keila and tried to justify his actions by saying that "she refused to have sexual relations."

“He later changed his story, stating that a man dressed in black appeared at the scene and that Keila left with him without giving directions,” according to the report.

They march and the search continues

Following the discovery of Keila Nicole's body parts on Wednesday, July 2, hundreds of people and authorities have joined the search for the remaining remains.

These efforts have continued until Sunday, July 6, without success; as has been documented, the forearms have yet to be found.

These efforts have involved groups, including the FGE (Federal General Office of the State Investigation Agency), the State Investigation Agency (AEI), canine officers, the State Citizen Security Force, the National Guard, the Defense Ministry, the Violet Squadron, the municipal police, and Inmujer.

The incident has sparked outrage among residents of El Rosario and the municipality of San Quintín, who also held a march this weekend to demand justice and that Cristian Iván “N” be tried as an adult.

According to various live broadcasts, people toured the town and reached the police station, where they displayed banners demanding justice. They concluded with a vigil in the town's central park, where they placed images of Keila Nicole and candles in the emblematic letters of El Rosario.