A photo of the owners of the Monarch drug rehab center in Ciudad Juarez, accused of murdering Celia Yaneth Castañeda. Photo from the Mexican Government.
CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico - A woman from Kansas who traveled to Mexico to receive treatment at a drug rehabilitation center in the border city of Ciudad Juárez was murdered and dismembered, according to local authorities.Celia Yaneth Castañeda, 35, was taken to the rehab center by her relatives after she returned from the United States, where she had been living for the last 10 years and developed an addiction to drugs and alcohol.During her first night at the Monarch rehab center, Castañeda allegedly had a “violent episode” because of her withdrawal symptoms and attacked both of the owners—identified as Diana Paola and Claudia Rubi—according to news reports. Paola and Rubi subsequently beat Castañeda to death in retaliation, and then tried to hide her dead body by cutting it into pieces, according to local authorities. The gruesome details emerged during a recent court hearing in Ciudad Juárez, where the judge read a police report describing the gruesome scene that unfolded at the property. On arrival, police officers found a metallic trash can that contained black-and-white pajamas and a woman's slipper stained with blood. As the officers proceeded further into the property, Paola and Rubi allegedly attempted to flee but were quickly apprehended, according to the police report. Authorities then found plastic buckets filled with human bones and flesh in the bathtub, along with plastic bags containing six large bones and two knee bones, according to the court hearing. After searching the kitchen, investigators found a blender containing human flesh. The suspects had reportedly attempted to liquefy the victim's genitalia, along with other soft body tissues and intestines, according to local news reports. During the hearing, the judge said he withheld from disclosing even more graphic details in order to preserve the dignity of the victim."For the sake of not re-victimizing the victim, for the sake of her dignity, I will not go on," the judge said, after reading the police report. The trial against the rehab center owners is still ongoing and they could face life in prison if found guilty. Castañeda’s murder is the latest in a wave string of femicides in Mexico in recent years, and part of a macabre trend across the country.
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