Spanish
Santo Domingo Este.- Amidst cries of pain and helplessness, María Gil, a 17-year-old teenager known as “Anahí,” was buried this Wednesday morning. She died yesterday, Tuesday, after being found with evident signs of physical and sexual violence in some bushes on Ecológica Avenue in Santo Domingo Este.
The funeral was held at the young woman's house in Maquiteria and at 11:00 in the morning she was transferred to the Cristo Salvador municipal cemetery. Family members, neighbors and friends accompanied the funeral procession in an atmosphere marked by weeping and the demand for justice, as well as police intervention to prevent disturbances.
The most heartbreaking scene was played out by the young woman's mother, who couldn't contain her screams of desperation as she held her one-year-old granddaughter, who is left orphaned, in her arms.
The victim's older sister, along with other family members and neighbors, also joined the outcry demanding a thorough investigation of the incident and that the person responsible be brought to justice.“My poor daughter, she was only 17 years old. She killed her, left her baby alone,” she cried inconsolably.
“Anahí didn't deserve this ending. She was a young mother. This cannot go unpunished,” expressed a neighbor of the young woman through tears.
According to family members, María had gone out last Friday to visit her grandmother, but never returned home. She was found the next day unconscious, with multiple injuries, and rushed to a health center, where she remained hospitalized in critical condition for four days until she passed away.
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The youngest, who was left orphaned, the victim's only daughter, had celebrated her first birthday just two days before the event that ended her mother's life.Relatives point to a man identified as Mario Abreu Lara, alias “Ramón”, who was allegedly the last person seen with her.
So far, authorities have not offered official statements on progress in the investigation, while María Gil's family calls for justice for her memory and for the daughter who is now growing up without her mother.
