Police Claimed Her Jail Death Was Suicide. After Months of Outrage, a Cop Was Just Charged With Murd

[Judi Lynn]

Keyla Martínez, a 26-year-old nursing student, was detained for a COVID curfew violation in Honduras in February. She was found dead in a police cell hours later.

By Jeff Ernst
May 6, 2021, 7:30am



WOMEN'S ORGANISATIONS MARCH TO DEMAND JUSTICE FOR THE DEATH OF NURSING STUDENT KEYLA MARTINEZ ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY IN TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS ON MARCH 8, 2021. PHOTO BY ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES.

A police officer in Honduras was arrested and charged with femicide for the murder of a young woman whose death in February inside a jail cell sparked outrage in Latin America’s most dangerous country for women. The arrest is a rare example of both a police officer being officially accused of a crime as well as the use of the charge of femicide.

The indictment presents a stark contrast to the version of events first presented by police, which claimed that Keyla Martínez, a 26-year-old nursing student, had committed suicide within hours of being detained for a pandemic curfew violation.

“The hypothesis of the police was that [Martínez] hanged herself,” said Yuri Mora, spokesperson for the public prosecutor’s office. “However, when the autopsy was done it was determined that she died of asphyxiation.”

“The corruption is evident,” said Norma Rodriguez, the grieving mother of Martínez. “They thought that we were going to bury my daughter thinking that she had committed suicide. They didn’t count on us not believing their bullshit.”

More:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvzzd8/police-claimed-her-jail-death-was-suicide-after-months-of-outrage-a-cop-was-just-charged-with-murder