Debanhi Escobar

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1:13Voices for Justice is a podcast that uses adult language and discusses sensitive and potentially triggering topics, including violence, abuse, and murder. This podcast may not be appropriate for younger audiences. All parties are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Some names have been changed or omitted per their request or for safety purposes. Listener discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney and this is Voices for Justice.

1:46Today, I'm discussing the case of Debony Escobar. A photo was taken of 18-year-old Debony Escobar in the early morning hours of April 9, 2022, on the side of a highway near Monterey, Nuevo Leon in Mexico. She was dressed for a night out, standing in the dark, far from where she was supposed to be. The photo of her taken that night would become one of the most widely circulated images in the country, but what happened before that moment and what followed has raised more questions than answers. In this episode, I'm going to retrace Debeny's final moments, examine the gaps in the timeline, and explore how her case sparked a national reckoning.

2:29This is the case of Devaney Escobar. It's April 8th, 2022, a Friday night, and 18-year-old Devaney Escobar is getting ready to go to a party with her friend Sarai and her co-worker Yvonne. It seems like a pretty welcome respite from her studies as a law student at the University of Nuevo León. She gets dressed in a white tank top, long skirt, white sneakers, and her favorite crucifix necklace. They all decide to meet up at Debony's parents' house in Monterey at about 11 p.m., and they use a rideshare app to book a car to pick them up. At about 11.30, Debony and her friends are seen buying a bottle of vodka.

3:08Then they go to the party. They stay at this party for just under two hours before booking another car to take them to a different party. I wasn't able to find much about this first party. It doesn't seem like anything really happened there. They just got bored and moved on to the next, as one does at the age of 18. Now, the driver who ends up picking them up is 31-year-old Juan David Cuellar, but he just goes by David. By the end of the ride, the girls ask him for his number so they can call him when they need another ride, and he's happy to oblige. But I do just want to pause here for a second.

3:43I've seen this part of Devaney's case debated on social media. Some people say that this is weird, while others say that they've done the same thing. Basically, that when they find a driver who makes them feel comfortable and safe, which is very, very important, they'll get their number so they don't have to really play like driver roulette with a rideshare app. And I will say that I've done it too. I've also had many drivers offer me their card so I can call them directly instead of going through the app. In my experience, many people who drive for rideshare apps also have a personal business driving on the side.

4:15So for me personally, this doesn't raise any red flags. But that is just my opinion. To play devil's advocate, I do think that there can be a better sense of security when going through a rideshare app that tracks both parties. That being said, do whatever makes you most comfortable. But I do suggest at the very minimum sharing your location with a friend. Either way, they do choose to get Daveed's number for future rides. And it comes in handy. They aren't at this second party for very long. By the time they get there, it's basically ending. So they call back David, make a few different stops, and it seems like they meet some guys about their age that end up joining them on the way to another party.

4:55Again, it feels like a very routine night out for a college student. You go to a party, pick up some new friends, and move on to the next. Just before 1.30am, they get dropped off at another party. But I do have to say that we have some conflicting reporting here about exactly where this party was located. Some reporting says that they were dropped off at an event venue called Quinta Diamante. When you look it up online, it's listed as a wedding venue. But they also apparently host poolside parties. Other reporting says that the three women were dropped off at a house party in the neighborhood of Nueva Castilla.

5:31But looking at pictures online, it looks like they could be the same place, a home that's also rented out for weddings. Either way, they get to the party, but things start to go wrong. According to witness statements, Stephanie locked herself in the bathroom at one point. Then video surveillance captures her arguing with and then being chased by a man down the street. When he catches up to her, she kicks and punches him before her two friends and a group of younger men run over and intervene. Not long after, at about 3.30 a.m., they decide to call it a night. At this point, someone, we don't know who, offers Debony a ride home, but Sarai and Yvonne basically say absolutely not.

6:13For some reason, they don't want to leave her with this person, and this upsets Debony. They get into a fight, and in the end, they call David to pick Debony up. The two other girls get a different ride home. David gets to the party just before 4am, Debony gets in the car, and video footage from the venue shows them sitting in his car for about 20 minutes until they begin driving. Now, just to pause here for a second, this part really piqued my interest. I wanted to know why they were just sitting in this car for 20 minutes. And I think I may have found at least one possible explanation. David stated in later interviews that Deboni refused to give him her address.

6:54He says she was upset, talking about how her friends were mean and intoxicated. Her friends would also say later that Debony was intoxicated as well. But I do think it's worth noting that for some reason, Debony seemed uncomfortable, or at the very least unwilling, to give this man her home address. According to her friends and David's interviews, her friends eventually shared with him to take her home, though. Why this wasn't communicated immediately when they asked him to pick her up, I don't know. But just a few minutes after they start driving, For some reason, Debony gets out of the car along the Monterey-Nuevo Laredo Highway.

7:32Now this is unfortunately a very big deal, not just because she's getting out along the highway, but this highway is known to locals as the highway of death due to the high number of people who've gone missing along it. The exact number is unknown, but many estimate it to be in the hundreds in just a few years. According to one report, in just two months, 10 girls went missing from the same town near the Highway of Death. So this is an incredibly dangerous area. David says he tried to convince Deboni to get back into the car, but she refused. So he takes a picture of her alongside the highway and sends it to her friends before finally driving away.

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9:40is hard to find. You need me to do this. A Hulu original, the hand that rocks the cradle. Rated R. Now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus for bundled subscribers. Terms apply. When Sarai and Yvonne get this picture of Deboni standing on the side of this very dangerous freeway, they are immediately concerned as any good friends would be. Now, the picture itself doesn't really tell us much. Deboni is standing alone in what appears to be some type of light next to the road. She's wearing the same outfit, the white tank top, long skirt, and white sneakers. Her purse is over her shoulder, and she's wearing a black face mask.

10:22She's not looking at the camera. There's no one else in the picture and no other cars. All you can see is some grass across the street and a set of mountains far away in the landscape. It looks like her arms might kind of be crossed, but I think it's pretty impossible to determine her demeanor at this point. According to David, he took this picture as kind of a proof of life for her friends. Like, hey, I tried to get her home safe, she refused, here's where she is in a picture showing her safe before I leave. But no matter how safe Debony appears to be in this picture, her friends know that she's not in a safe area, so they do the only thing they can think of.

11:01They call Debony's dad for help. Now, like I mentioned at the top of this episode, Debony lives with her parents in Monterey. Their names are Mario and Dolores. They're both teachers, and Debony is their only child. Her mom is actually waiting up for her to get home as her friends are trying to call Mario. But for some reason, in a weird twist of events, his phone died overnight. So Debony's parents have no idea what's happening until Mario plugs in his phone at about 8.30am, hours after their daughter was last seen. Once they get caught up to speed, they are all over it. They gather up friends and family to go to the freeway to look for Debany, but they come up with nothing.

11:42Debany does have a phone, but no one can get a hold of her, and she's nowhere to be found. This is extremely out of character for her. While yes, she did act like an 18-year-old college student in many ways, like going to a few parties on a Friday night, she was still responsible. I think it's also really important to understand that she was very aware of how dangerous her situation was. Just a few weeks before this, Debony marched alongside thousands of other women to in part protest rampant femicide in Monterey and throughout all of Mexico. So when her loved ones can't find her quickly, they call in authorities to help in the search.

12:19They know every moment is crucial. And her parents even take it a step further and post that last known photo of Debony to her Instagram account. The caption reads, quote, For people who wonder if this photo is real, yes, it is real. It was the last time Debany was seen. We have had this photo since the morning of April 9, end quote. Now, Debany's case was already making waves pretty quickly, but this post goes absolutely viral. They start getting a ton of help from their community and the media. They even get the location of where her cell phone last pinged, right near the freeway where David took that photo.

12:57So, of course, all eyes are on David, the last person to see Debany alive at this point. And pretty quickly, his criminal history comes to light, as well as an investigation into prior claims that he was harassing and even attempting to kidnap women. It's terrifying for Devaney's loved ones. But David isn't really hiding. He's participating in the media, they have his phone number, and he is located, questioned multiple times, and his vehicle is searched. According to reporting by The Independent, David may have admitted that the two had some type of altercation before Debony got out of the car.

13:34But that's not all. According to that same reporting, a journalist gets exclusive access to photos that allegedly show him reaching for or trying to grope Debony's chest before she got out of the car that night. Now, everything that I've found about these incidents is reported as alleged, so take that for what you will. But if it's true, it would make sense why Debony would take her chances being left alone in this extremely dangerous area. Again, literally being coined the highway of death versus being alone in a vehicle with a man who may have tried to sexually assault her. But while investigating David, they do gather video from the surrounding area, and they're able to establish a timeline and prove that Debony left the area alive.

14:19They believe he picked her up at 4.20am, drove for about 5 minutes before she got out of his vehicle, and then she goes to a nearby business, this transportation company looking for help. At 4.30am, she's captured on surveillance video seemingly looking around for someone. But then she walks out of sight of the cameras and towards the direction of the nearby Nueva Castilla Motel, less than two blocks away. Now at this point when they discover this footage, it's been over a week since Debeni went missing. David is essentially cleared and all eyes go to this motel. Of course, they ask their employees to check their security footage, but the staff tells them that they don't have any.

15:01They do say that they have cameras, but they only record a live feed. Nothing is retained. Officials end up searching this motel four times, but they come up with nothing. And these searches were pretty intense. They bring in 200 people, teams of search dogs and they use drones. But again, there's no trace of debony anywhere. Until April 21st. That's when they get a call from the staff at the motel. They say that there's an awful smell coming from the area of the pool. So they go back to investigate again. And they do find the source of the smell. It's not coming from the pool though. It's coming from an in-ground water tank without a lid.

15:42For description purposes, it's basically a well of sorts, 12 feet deep. They look down and find Devaney deceased in the water. Her body was pretty badly decomposed, but they find her crucifix and some clothing belonging to her in the tank. Again, sources do vary here. Most mention the crucifix, her shoes, and white tank top, but it seems like her skirt may have been missing. And when they look in the other two water tanks, they find her other belongings, her keys, purse, and phone. Her father Mario was called to confirm that it was Debony. He left the motel crying, walked to the press, and said, quote, my daughter is dead, and I don't know what to do, end quote.

16:33When they confirm that it is Debony using DNA, Authorities announced publicly that they believe she was not a victim of foul play, but that her death was an accident, that she likely fell into the water tank and drowned. Her parents, her other loved ones, and the public are shocked. Her cause of death is listed as a traumatic brain injury, possibly a blow to her head. Their theory is that she slipped, hit her head, fell in the tank, and drowned. But this didn't exactly match the autopsy. No water was found in her throat or lungs, indicating that she was placed in the tank after she died. So the public and Debonese loved ones really weren't buying this theory.

17:17In fact, they were outraged, and people marched in the streets demanding justice for her. They were also scared. One woman, 23-year-old Lydia Gomez, jumped from a moving cab in Mexico City, she thought she was being kidnapped, and said that after hearing about Debony, she'd, quote, be better off throwing myself out than being found in a vacant lot, end quote. Suddenly, Debony Escobar was a symbol of femicide, the very epidemic she was fighting against weeks before her death. After officials announced that they believed 18-year-old Debony Escobar's death was accidental and the local community and really people all around the world expressed their outrage, more details just kept coming out, including something huge.

18:06Earlier in this episode, I told you that when authorities went to the motel to ask for surveillance footage from the night Debeny died, the employees told them that they did have cameras, but they only recorded a live feed. They didn't actually retain any footage. Well, that was a lie. Footage from the night that she died miraculously appears. So let's go back to the timeline and add in what we find out from this surveillance footage. David began driving Debony at 4.20am and drove for about 5 minutes before she got out of his vehicle. At 4.30am, she's captured on surveillance video, seemingly looking around for someone at the transportation company, but then walks out of sight of the cameras.

18:48With this new footage, we now know that she was seen at the motel, and she is alone, but she's running. Now, like with a lot of surveillance video, the quality isn't the best, but I'll try to describe to you what's happening in the video. We see her run past the front of the restaurant attached to the motel, then to the front of the motel itself. Then a second camera captures her running on the side of the restaurant away from the front of the motel. At 4.36am, you can see her go back to the front of the restaurant near the pool and the water tanks. Then she runs out of the frame. And we have a 20-minute gap until 4.56 a.m.

19:26This is when she's seen near the pool and water tanks again. And that's it. We never see her go into the water tank. We also don't see anyone else in these videos. No one's staying at the motel, and no staff members ever reported seeing her either. Not even members of their security team, who were reportedly on the property 24 hours a day. So we have more video we've added to the timeline, but we still don't have answers about how Debony died, what happened in the 20 whole minutes we don't see her in the footage, or how she ended up in the water tank. So let's talk about this area of the hotel for a second.

20:05The restaurant and where the pool and water tanks were had all been closed down for years before this, and one of the only ways for a member of the public to access it would be to hop a fence. Now, one fence does have barbed wire along the top, but not all of them. So it definitely would be difficult for someone to get in, but by no means impossible. Really, the only other ways that debony or any member of the public would have access to this area was if a door was accidentally left open or unlocked, or if an employee let someone in. And there's no footage of any of this happening. But again, we are missing 20 minutes of video, and honestly, who knows what else.

20:45Again, when all of this comes to light, it only fuels the outrage in the community and in Deboni's loved ones. People were upset that after four searches of this area, authorities didn't find her, that they were told that this footage didn't exist, and that it miraculously appeared. People were really beginning to suspect that maybe a member of law enforcement or motel staff were covering up a murder. It's at this point that her family says enough is enough. They obtain an independent autopsy of her remains. In early May, they revealed that Debony did die due to blunt force trauma to her head, just like the first autopsy revealed.

21:23But there's more. This new coroner observed other injuries to her head and face not notated in the first autopsy. They say that she suffered several blows to her forehead, both of her eyes, her nose, lips, and the upper part of her right ear. They also determine that she was deceased before being placed into the water tank and that she had been sexually assaulted They declare that she was the victim of a homicide After this all comes to light, there's a political firestorm in the media People are demanding justice for Debony while other people were saying that she brought this on herself Video of her buying vodka earlier in the night emerges, and some people use this as an aha type of moment.

22:15See, she was drunk. That explains it. But if you're listening to this podcast, you know that that's not how we evaluate unsolved homicides. If Debany slipped and fell into the water tank because she was drunk, that still doesn't explain why she was sexually assaulted, or how some of her belongings were placed into the other water tanks. Like we see in so many cases in true crime, Debony's murder became a popular topic of discussion, and the crazier the allegations were, the more attention her case garnered. Some people argued that Debony was an upstanding member of her community, a successful college student with a bright future in law ahead of her, while others argued that she was just a reckless party girl.

22:57Some of the headlines read, She was drunk, and she was out of her senses. Her memory was shamelessly disgraced in the name of clicks and views. This truly is the dark side of media pressure. But then, everything came to a head when authorities exhumed her body to perform a third autopsy. This time, the Mexican government steps in, and has this conducted by the head of Mexico City's forensic services, Dr. Felipe Takuhashi, and his findings don't match either of the previous autopsies performed. When Debony Escobar's remains undergo a third autopsy, the doctor determines that she died from asphyxiation, not a blow to the head as the two previous autopsies revealed.

23:46He also says that he didn't find any indication of sexual assault and adds that she likely died three to five days before being found in the water tank. So during all four searches of the motel, the searches that had the public in a total uproar because they didn't find debony, this doctor says that she was alive during that time. Now, for obvious reasons, many people were and still are skeptical of this third autopsy. But with each autopsy report really telling a different story, there's not much her loved ones can do. Now, government officials aren't ruling this an accident by any means at this point.

24:27They do agree to investigate her death as a femicide, and the president of Mexico eventually rallies behind Deboni's parents and vows to help them find her killer. And they do find more. In May, they get a tip that leads them to identification belonging to Deboni. It was hidden in planters in a condominium about 15 miles away from the motel. But as far as I could find, they don't really find anything else in this area, and unfortunately, this lead doesn't seem to go anywhere. By September, the authorities go back to the motel staff for interviews. They also take their electronic devices like laptops and cell phones.

25:04And in January 2023, two motel employees are charged with concealment and making false declarations to authorities after initially telling them that there was no video footage of Deveny at the motel. As far as I could find, Anna Louisa, a manager, and Alita Ureth, who worked the front desk, are still awaiting trial for these charges. And unfortunately, that's really the most legal justice Debony has gotten thus far. Her case remains unsolved. On the one-year anniversary of Debony's murder, her parents led a demonstration from the main square of the state capitol to the Nuevo León prosecutor's office, and finally to the Nuevo Castilla Motel where they observed a minute of silence for Debony.

25:49When speaking about this demonstration, Mario told El Pais News, quote, there are still many unanswered questions. What we are looking for is justice and truth, end quote. And he's right. Debany's case leaves us with so many questions. Why was Debany running in that surveillance footage? Was someone chasing her? Why did the motel employees lie about the cameras? Or were the authorities lying? How did she get into this area of the motel? Did she hop a wall, find an open door, or did someone let her in? And of course, who killed her and placed her in the water tank, and how was she not found until her body began to smell?

26:39According to reporting by L. Pius News, aerial images of the water tank show that prior to Debeny's murder, they were covered by lids. So when and why were they removed?