The Case of Debanhi Escobar: ‘From missing to murdered. Now, Exhumed’

The Mexican Government Needs To Get Their Sh*t Together

Debanhi was an 18- year-old girl, who had gone out to party with her friends on April 9,2022 After a night out with her friends, Debanhi went missing for nearly two weeks. Her body was discovered thirteen days after she was last seen alive in the state of Nuevo León, Monterey City, Mexico.

A Redditor commented:

“The issue in Mexico is not the murder rate; the problem is that 95% of cases go unsolved.”

There is no better place to murder someone and get away with it. At least 10 women or girls are murdered every day in Mexico.

Debanhi needed a ride because there was an altercation that occurred during the get together. Her friends essentially kicked her out of the party because she was being problematic. Her friends called Juan David Cuellar, a supposed “friend” who worked as a taxi driver.

When Cuellar arrived at the party, Debanhi didn’t want to get in the car or go home. They waited for a while before she asked him if she could charge her phone in the car. From there, they agreed to leave the party.

She was sitting in the back seat. Cuellar said she transferred herself from the backseat to the front passenger side. He says she was not in control of herself.

He continued to drive and asked for her address, so he could take her home. She refused to give up her address. They continued driving but haven’t yet reached the city limits. She began speaking about something that has to do with the “truth.” When she started saying weird things, he turned on the microphone on his phone and began recording the conversation.

After some time, she told him to let her out, and he allegedly let her out but didn’t want to leave her there because the area was dangerous.

He then began taking pictures and videos of her. Sending the content to her friends through WhatsApp. Cuellar was trying to show that he did everything he could to tell her to get back in the car, but she wouldn’t.

He left her there.

The surveillance footage from a nearby business next to the motel caught Debanhi running through the highway then entering the motel grounds. This was the last time she was ever seen alive.

What happened next would leave everyone in confusion. The government’s mouthpiece “EL PAIS” began spreading the news of Debanhi going missing.

Debanhi’s father, Mario Escobar, met with a team provided by the state to search for his daughter. Escobar and his team had searched everywhere possible in the vicinity of the motel and did not discover her body until the thirteenth day.

The Press in Mexico continued to push the narrative that Debanhi was meeting someone she knew at the motel. This put a bias on the public’s opinion since this narrative appears to be “her fault.”

This narrative, however, completely contradicts Cuellar’s story. Since he stated that he continued to just drive around since she didn’t want to give up her address or go home. She wanted to party and was searching for another one. Cuellar’s story would change the narrative that the government was pushing out about her being dropped off to see someone at the motel.

The video captured by a nearby car repair shop shows Debanhi running towards the motel. As Cuellar said, she asked to be let out, so he made a random stop.

She never planned to be at the motel. Cuellar stayed consistent with his story. It’s more plausible than the Mexican Press. However, it is likely that the government told him what to say during his confession because he broke the news during live television. He brought out key information as to what they wanted us to believe happened that night. He, of course, cooperated with officials because Cuellar was a prime suspect. Cuellar was never charged.

The officials confiscated his cell phone and determined that he was telling the truth since he took the photos and videos of Debanhi refusing to get back in the car. He left the scene and never returned. But for a short while, her father accused him of being a suspect since he was the only person to see her before she went missing. Her friends would appear on the news and appeared to be happier than they should have looked. They identified Cuellar as the “taxi” driver they called to take her home. The police immediately went looking for Juan David Cuellar. But all the evidence showed on his phone that he left her there and never returned. He only had a few seconds of her voice recorded.

Cuellar’s innocence is mere speculation, however. There is a possibility that he intended to head towards that direction and possibly forced her against her will to go to the motel. Which would explain why they stopped all of a sudden and why she stood there “refusing.”

Then all of a sudden, she runs to the motel. He could have staged everything to appear as if he was innocent, which is why he was so diligent to document those final moments.

Sex trafficking victims are often more scared to leave their perpetrator because they would be punished physically or killed for attempting to break free. Traffickers often brainwash their victims, causing Stockholm syndrome. Since there is no evidence, it remains a conspiracy what exactly happened to her that night. Was she killed that day or was she alive and then murdered in the latter days of her disappearance?

Think about it.

It doesn’t take 13 days for a corpse to begin stinking up the place. They searched the motel four times. Surely if her body was in the septic tank, the odor would have alerted the motel staff earlier. She might not have died there. There’s the argument that because she was in a septic tank, that would delay the rotting. But, it’s all up for conspiracy. Everyone seemed to have moved on.

The official statement by the Mexican government was: she accidentally fell inside the tank and died. This statement would be redacted later on as the autopsy revealed that there were no signs she drowned because no water was in her lungs.

The autopsy revealed that she died before being placed into the septic tank. Which makes more sense than the previous statement released by the officials. The autopsy also revealed that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.

Debanhi Escobar's results after conducting a second autopsy. Not only was Debanhi murdered, but she was also raped. Why was this not mentioned in the first autopsy?

Nuevo León has been trending, as the state has the highest rate of femicide in the country. The Prosecutor’s Office have made many promises to end this crisis. However, actions speak louder than words, especially when it’s “inaction.”

“This was no accident, this is violent homicide.” — A female police officer didn’t even believe what the authorities released to the public.

The State of Nuevo León, as well as the entire country of Mexico, are outraged and are spiritually tired from the grief they have to relive every time a woman goes missing.

Debanhi Escobar was the drop that made the cup overflow — so that the world will begin watching what is going on in Mexico and around the world.

“Sex trafficking is happening all around us. It’s down the street. It’s inside a trap house. It’s happening on OnlyFans. What’s happening in Nuevo León is advertising how low they are willing to go and the amount of impunity they have is clout chasing on methamphetamine.”

The case of Debanhi Escobar is so complex and organized that the department in charge of preventing organized crime, either seems to be unfit for the job or, on the contrary, experts at their job.

The Prosecutor’s Office still has not acknowledged the details of Escobar’s death. Since the discovery of the body on April 21, 2022 the Prosecutor’s Office has only reported on the cause of death: traumatic brain injury.

Debanhi Escobar had a closed casket funeral and was buried shortly after. This should be where the story ends. But a week after she was buried, the government decided to investigate the case and asked if they could exhume her corpse since the officials who first gave the autopsy didn’t check for any signs of rape (or didn’t document it). The private autopsy the family paid for revealed that she not only was murdered, but she was raped. In Spanish, it translates to English as, “She had severe sexual relations.”

Why can’t the government just leave it alone? What are they expecting to get? Answers and clues? Nothing is going to change what happened. She should be allowed to rest now. The parents of Debanhi gave the government permission to exhume her person. I believe the parents are still grieving, so it might not come off as insulting. However, it’s extremely insulting given the fact she died in one of the worst ways possible and at the prime of her life. Any day now, her body will be exhumed.

Edited for clarity and context on June 6th, 2022. Join my email list to stay updated on this matter.