Page 12 - AT

A12 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 3 March 2020
Friends say Tijuana woman was stalked even after death

MARK STEVENSON It wasn't like, 'Oh my God,
Associated Press she's connected.' It was
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The like, 'No, it's interesting.' ...
man was obsessed with And like 2 hours later, that's
Marbella Valdez. He sent when her body showed up.
her gifts, bought food for I think he realized we were
her friends. Prosecutors say on to him."
he even planted a tracking The suspect once report-
device on her car. edly worked as a sort of
And when the 20-year-old civilian intern for a police
law student's body, beaten, forensic office and liked to
bound and strangled, was present himself as a former
found at a Tijuana garbage cop, though he never was
dump, he approached po- one. He also approached
lice to demand the case police to find out informa-
be solved. He even turned tion on their investigation of
up at her funeral bearing Marbella's death, accord-
a floral arrangement and ing to prosecutors quoted
wearing a T-shirt with her by the newspaper El Impar-
photograph and the femi- cial.
nist slogan "Not One More State prosecutors said they
Woman" printed on it. had more evidence when
A week later, he was ar- they arrested Juan on Feb.
rested and charged with 21, including GPS location
her murder. data from his phone show-
The man — identified by ing he had been with Mar-
Mexican rules only by his bella after she disappeared
first name, Juan — has in- and his DNA was found un-
sisted on his innocence. der the dead woman's fin-
But friends and family gernails.
say Marbella Valdez was For three days after her dis-
stalked in life and even af- The casket of slain Marbella Valdez is carried by her ex-boyfriend Jairo Solano, right, from the appearance, relatives had
ter death. hearse to her grave in Tijuana, Mexico, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. been telling police they
Authorities in the border Associated Press suspected Juan of tak-
state of Baja California ing her; Brenda believes
confirmed that the sus- bella's adoptive sister)." "I would ask her and she just messaging accounts. They that if they had searched
pect is the man seen in The pair, Messick and Bren- kind of laughed it off, she were later able use them to Juan's house, they could
photographs depositing da Villarreal, had done didn't really take it serious- determine her location af- have found her alive. "I told
flowers on Marbella's coffin much of the investigation ly." Messick said. "I'm like, ter she disappeared, which them, if you had acted, my
as it was lowered into the after she disappeared on 'Are you interested in this matched Juan's location. sister might still be alive,"
ground on Feb. 14. Feb. 5. Within a few hours, guy?' And she's like, 'Oh no, "This guy Juan, when we Brenda said
By that time, Marbella's Brenda got a message of course not.' ... Constantly hacked her WhatsApp ac- "The level of suffering is so
family already believed from her: Someone had ap- there was more stuff in her count, he noticed," Messick many degrees, it's so pain-
he was the one who killed parently taken Marbella's apartment, and like a giant recalled. ful," Messick said, days af-
her, but they couldn't say a phone and sent out mes- teddy bear. She just always "He called and said, 'Oh, ter the initial arraignment.
word. sages impersonating her. laughed it off. She thought this is interesting, her What- "The guy was smiling at the
"And the guy showed up "We knew it wasn't her it was hilarious, and thought sApp account is active.' hearing."q
at the funeral and we had when I first read a mes- it was not a big deal."
to shut our mouths, which sage I got," Brenda said. "It Juan would show up to
was the hardest thing in the said, 'I feel bad, I'm going the gas station where she Brazil death toll in
world," said William H. Mes- to see the dr,' and my sister worked, and bring break-
sick, a San Diego software doesn't write that way." fast to all Marbella's co- Amazon-area boat
executive who has run a Marbella had grown up in workers.
self-funded non-profit since a Tijuana orphanage and That seemed harmless
2014 to help youngsters like Messick paid her rent and enough: "He would try to accident rises to 13
Marbella as they age out ensured she went to school. win everybody over , ev-
of orphanages. While he In return, he expected she erybody thought he was
never legally adopted her, would go to church and great," Messick said. By DAVID BILLER Associ- ment said in a statement
Marbella considered him a not allow any men, even But a more sinister side ated Press published early Monday
father. him, into her apartment. gradually emerged. Mes- A total of 13 bodies have that authorities have
"I wanted to throw up every Juan had started pursuing sick said Juan seemed al- been recovered since a found the bodies of five
time I saw him, I wanted to Marbella, a 20-year-old law ways to know where Mar- passenger boat accident men and eight women,
kill him," Messick said. "And student, since mid-2019, bella was. After his arrest, on a tributary of the Ama- including three girls under
we're getting thrown un- targeting her mainly at her police found a GPS locat- zon in northern Brazil, of- 11 years old.
der the bus. In the media, day job as a pump atten- ing device to Marbella's ficials said Monday, and Amapa and neighboring
people are like, 'Oh my dant at an all-female gas car, and Messick said he more were feared dead. Para state have deployed
God, why did they let him station in Tijuana. believed the man may The Anna Karoline III boat four aircraft and two
go to the funeral?' We had He had been trying to win have taken a copy of the was transporting dozens boats to search for others.
no choice, we had to play Marbella's trust for months, keys to her apartment. of people when it sank Forty-six people were res-
along, otherwise he would giving her chocolate, flow- Marbella disappeared on on Saturday on a remote cued. Brazil's Navy has
have fled, or he would ers, stuffed animals and Feb. 5 and her family quick- stretch of the Jari River. opened an investigation
have killed Brenda (Mar- other gifts. ly managed to get into her The Amapa state govern- into the accident.q