Robbery appears to have been motive in murder of IMSS employees

May 9, 2020

Co-workers of one of the victims held a memorial at the hospital where she worked.

Two men have been arrested in the brutal murders of three healthcare workers in Coahuila, state Attorney General Gerardo Márquez Guevara said, and robbery appears to have been the motive.

The victims were nurses Cecilia Pérez, 48, and Dora Pérez, 56, and 59-year-old Araceli Pérez who worked as a secretary at the Social Security Institute (IMSS).

Their decomposing bodies were discovered early Friday in a house in the Compresora neighborhood in the western part of Torreón. The sisters appeared to have been tortured; their wrists and feet were bound and they were beaten about the head with household objects and strangled to death, police said.

“The probable motive according to the preliminary data uncovered during the investigation is robbery, ruling out that it would have been due to the professional practice in the area of health carried out by the three victims,” Governor Miguel Ángel Riquelme stated in a press conference.

One of the alleged murderers was a 23-year-old nurse and co-worker of one of the victims at IMSS clinic 16. His alleged accomplice was a 24-year-old friend who worked at a market.

A van belonging to one of the sisters was found abandoned on the highway to Santa Fe. Upon their arrest, the suspects were found in possession of various items presumed to have belonged to the sisters, including 1,400 pesos in cash, gold and silver bracelets, rings, household appliances, pens, three cell phones, earrings, religious medals, a voter’s identification card and a woman’s purse.

Last night, coworkers of one of the victims paid tribute an emotional tribute to her and her sisters with flowers, tears, white balloons and a full minute of applause.

“Cecy,” as she was known, worked the night shift at IMSS hospital 46 and members of the nursing staff gathered at the hospital’s entrance to remember her as a cheerful person and a friend to all who was dedicated to her profession.

Red ribbons and candles have been placed outside the home where the sisters were found as a memorial.

Source: Milenio (sp), El Siglo de Torreon (sp)