Mexican authorities confirm 7-year-old murdered girl was sexually abused, suffocated

Seven-year-old Itzel Nohemi Quiroa Seratos was suffocated and sexually abused before she was killed, said Sonora’s State Attorney General’s Office during a press conference Friday.

An autopsy revealed Itzel was killed on May 23, the day she went missing. Search parties along with several law enforcement agencies searched for Itzel for seven days until she was found Thursday evening.

Authorities arrested a 29-year-old suspect who lived in the same neighborhood as Itzel . The attorney general’s office said the suspect has a criminal history that includes theft.

Itzel’s death is the first murder of a minor involving rape in the state of Sonora this year.

Neighbors in San Luis Rio Colorado are mourning the loss of Itzel whose body was found by the canal.

Family, friends, and neighbors are still in disbelief after Mexican authorities confirmed the death of Itzel Nohemi Quiroa Seratos . Neighbors that live next to the family took News 11 to a remote deserted area where the body of Itzel was found.

Maria Guadalupe, a family friend, said, ” We searched here so many times, we passed through this area multiple times. How could we have not seen her little body just laying here? ”

Stay with us as we gather more information on this story.