Relatives in California of the three young women murdered in Mexico, called on the community to support their parents with donations with unexpected funeral expenses.
The three young women lived in Mexico but many of their immigrant relatives from Zacatecas live in Los Angeles, and it is they who cry out for donations and prayers.
To support them with donations visit the GoFundMe site: Paola, Daniela & Viviana.
On the night of December 25, Irma Paola Vargas Montoya, 27, Viviana Márquez Pichardo, 26, and Daniela Márquez Pichardo, 28, the girlfriend of José Melesio Gutiérrez, 36, disappeared while traveling on a highway in Zacatecas, the height of the Viboras town.
The three together with Melesio returned from having gone to have fun in Jerez, Zacatecas. They were traveling on Highway 23 from Jerez, Zacatecas to Colotlán, Jalisco.
The last time they were heard from was on December 25 at around 11:40 p.m. when Daniela sent a text message to her parents. From that moment on, her whereabouts were never heard from again.
José Melesio, a Mexican-American architect who lived in Cincinnati, Ohio had traveled to Mexico to meet his girlfriend Daniela Márquez to whom he had become engaged a year earlier. They planned to get married in October this year.
José Melesio and his average Daniela as well as Viviana, Daniela’s sister and her cousin Irma Paola made the trip together by car to Jerez, but never returned.
Days later, the car in which they were traveling was found with bullet holes; and flat tires.
It was almost a month later, on January 18, that the bodies of the four youths were located in a drug grave at the Monte de la Presa Vieja ranch in the community of El Cuidado in the municipality of Tepetongo, Zacatecas. On January 24, it was confirmed that one of the bodies belonged to José Melesio.
Silvia Violeta Delgado Pichado, who resides in Whittier, California, spoke on behalf of the Pichardo family in California, who wanted to honor the lives of Daniela, Viviana, Paola and José.
“They were exceptional young people, professionals who suffered the crisis in Mexico.”
He added: “I had the pleasure of living with Daniela and Viviana at the arrival of the Virgin in our community of Berrendos, Monte Escobedo, Zacatecas where I know they were beautiful people very loved by the family and their friends.”
And he regretted not having met Paola and José but said that through social networks it is recognized that they will all be greatly missed.
“They were young people with many illusions and dreams cut short by this extremely sad reality.”
He asked to pray for his parents, their families, their friends; and especially for all the families that suffer from this same penalty in Mexico.
“I invite everyone to honor the memory of our Pichardo family and for Mexico. I hope to see justice and security to feel peace. Very sorry”.
Loren Delgado Pichardo said that they opened an account in GoFundMe with the idea of raising $20,000 to help with funeral expenses for the families of the girls in Zacatecas, Mexico.
“We always hoped to find them alive. The wait has been a desperate thing; and all to know that they were dead. Marches and demonstrations were held while they were looking for them. Today we feel defeated in these insecure times in Zacatecas where young professionals full of dreams continue to disappear.”
Both Pichardo sisters expressed that after the terrible tragedy, they are left with a lot pending for the families of the young people who live in Zacatecas.
“There is a lot of helplessness that we feel. People are locked in their homes in our town with fear of going out, but with a great desire for justice, and those of us who live here want to return to Zacatecas without fear to be able to take our children.”
on the account of GoFundMe Created by relatives living in Los Angeles, organizer Velma de la Rosa says the families have experienced tremendous loss.
“Please help us show our support for the parents of Paola, Viviana and Daniela by helping with their daughters’ burial expenses. We greatly appreciate your collaboration.”
On Saturday, January 27, a mass was celebrated in memory of the four young people in the Church of San Matías in the city of Huntington Park in the county of Los Angeles.
According to the Zacatecas state Attorney General’s Office, last year 881 people disappeared in the state of Zacatecas.
According to what was reported by the newspaper The country of Spain, the place where the tragedy occurred is a battlefield for territory between the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel. It is a space, said the Spanish newspaper, “where the victims have been eternally trapped.”