A three-year-old in Paraguay was reportedly sold by her mother for $17 worth of crack cocaine. The young girl was subsequently raped and murdered by her mother’s boyfriend, who she was sold to, per the Daily Mail.
Luz Maida was thrown into the hands of her mother’s drug dealer boyfriend for just a few pieces of crack cocaine. The horrific exchange was apparently caught on CCTV in the early hours on Friday in Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay. The mother, Aurelia Salinas, 42, can be seen handing her daughter off to a strange man.
It was just 24 hours later that Luz’s body was discovered inside of an abandoned hours, wrapped in a shirt. The Daily Mail reported that the little girl was often seen wearing a blue Frozen dress.
The footage apparently depicts Salinas’ boyfriend making his way down a muddy pathway with Luz in one hand, slapping her with his free hand to make her stop squirming. The dealer, though he has not been named, went on to sexually abuse and murder the three-year-old, who had not yet started school.
Though the cause of death has not yet been confirmed, initial reports suggest that she was suffocated. The local community allegedly attempted to lynch Salinas after she confessed to selling her daughter for drugs. However, she initially said that Luz had snuck out of the house while she was sleeping.
Additionally, the boyfriend admitted to killing the little girl, according to Mirror.
Salinas and her boyfriend were arrested, as well as a 17-year-old who was apparently involved, though the details have not been made clear about the young person’s involvement in the crimes.
There were more than 300 people who attended Luz’s funeral, and several neighbors burned down the house that she was discovered in.
Investigators noted that the family has had a “history of tragedies,” per the report, going on to note that Salinas has seven children, including a 12-year-old girl Salinas apparently allowed to be sexually assaulted by a 30-year-old man.
Both cases are currently being investigated.
