The body of Shelsy Michel, three years old, was found near her home after being reported missing on the afternoon of last Wednesday, December 10, in the town of Mingueo, municipality of Dibulla, in La Guajira.

The minor, according to relatives and neighbors, had gone out to play near her house when she disappeared.

Justice by own hands for the death of the 3-year-old girl

Outrage in the community escalated when, on the afternoon of this Thursday, December 11, residents of the rural area allegedly identified a teenager as allegedly responsible for the homicide and decided to take justice into their own hands.

The young man, allegedly captured by the same inhabitants, was beaten as soon as they found him. For the people, there was only one reason to incriminate him: apparently he lived in the house where the girl’s body was found. That information was enough to convict him without the right to defense.

The enraged community only stopped the beating to force him to speak. In the midst of crying, the young man denied being responsible. And he allegedly pointed out that the culprit of the crime was ‘a friend’; However, he did not give more details.

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Police rejected by the community

When the Police wanted to intervene and request his surrender, they were allegedly firmly rejected. “They are not going to release him here”the inhabitants who had already made a decision would have repeated. A group of men on a motorcycle would have taken him to the upper part of the town.

At the top, they allegedly locked him in a board house, tied him up and recorded him crying. Given his silence, the captors would have decided to end his life.

According to regional media, the young man was attacked and tortured before the authorities could make a formal arrest. The execution would have been brutal: they allegedly cut off her head and hung her from a tree.

His body was found abandoned, naked and with an alleged message written on his abdomen that indicated he was responsible for the girl’s death. The body would have been abandoned on a nearby mountain with a sign written in a rudimentary way: “Here you pay with your life.”

The governor of La Guajira, Jairo Aguilar, expressed his concern about the seriousness of the events: “Nothing justifies such an atrocious act, which hurts a family and shakes our entire department.”

“The lives of our children are sacred and must be protected without exceptions. We accompany their family in this moment of immense pain and we reiterate our unwavering commitment to the defense of Guajiro children”he added.

The La Guajira Police Department indicated that there is a reward of $50 million for the capture of the alleged perpetrator, although it did not provide details of the suspect allegedly lynched by the community.

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