Ten-Year-Old Génesis Mei Ling Murdered in Mexico
Génesis Mei Ling is yet another victim of a femicide case in Mexico

FILE - In this Nov. 1, 2016 file photo, a women, her faced painted as a Catrina, holds up a sign with a message that reads in Spanish: "No More Femicides," during a demonstration to protest violence against women in Mexico City. Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission said Monday, Oct. 23, 2017, that authorities should declare a gender violence alert for the central state of Puebla. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)
Across Latin America, femicide, or targeted violence against women and girls, continues to be an ongoing issue. In 2023, at least 11 women were murdered every day specifically because of their gender and that number has only increased in the years since, according to data gathered by the Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean (GEO) of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Since 2001, 50,000 women have been murdered in Mexico, while the impunity rate exceeds 95 percent, according to data from the United Nations. On January 16, it was reported that a 10-year-old girl had been murdered in Cuautlancingo in the Mexican state of Puebla, her body found with signs of violence and sexual abuse, Proceso, a newspaper in Mexico City, reported. The victim, who was identified as Génesis Mei Ling, was found dead after being reported missing three days prior to the murder, when she left home to go out to play. Authorities have stated that a neighbor is currently involved in the case, though the case remains under investigation and no murderer has been officially announced. Her family is currently demanding justice for Génesis’s murder and is seeking accountability for whoever committed the crime, leaving her body to be found in the same neighborhood she lived in, according to the Mexican newspaper El Sol de Puebla.
“I only know that my niece appeared dead, they did not tell us much, but with all the investigations everything indicated that she was here in the neighborhood and justice is imminently requested for her and for all the victims of crimes,” the family said in a statement in Spanish.
Génesis lived in Cuautlancingo with her mother and grandmother in a two-story apartment building a few blocks from the capital. When she went out to play by herself on January 12, she was later reported missing when she didn’t return. She’d been wearing a long-sleeved shirt, leggings, and tennis shoes, which the family provided to the public in their missing person posters. Authorities found her dead three days later, inciting shock and horror across the neighborhood, especially among those who knew her. Many have reported the lack of adequate security or safety in the town, where robberies are common, there is no surveillance protocol, and Mayor Omar Muñoz Alfaro reportedly refuses to address the problem.
As the case is only just beginning, the neighborhood is being patrolled by local police and the Navy in order to protect evidence, since she seemed to have disappeared and died in the area. A neighbor from one of the town’s private houses is currently involved in the case, though his status as a suspect isn’t confirmed yet. However, according to unofficial reports, he voluntarily turned himself in to police in that municipality five days after confessing to his wife that he had killed Génesis, Proceso reported. Other neighbors believe that he attacked Génesis and that even if it wasn’t him, the suspect had to be someone from the area but it’s all currently speculation, El Sol de Puebla reported. In the meantime, people are banding together to demand justice for Génesis and ensure that her murderer is caught.
“It is not fair that she is just another victim who is forgotten,” a local resident told El Sol de Puebla.
The investigation is currently ongoing.