Karen Esquivel, putting a face to femicide in the State of Mexico

Through May 2016, the number of femicides in the State of Mexico had already reached 39, according to figures released by the State of Mexico's Attorney's General Office. Since then, the Attorney General reports a 30% increase in gender-related homicides over the last 5 months.

Karen Esquivel Espinosa de los Monteros is sadly another name that has been added to the list of femicides this year after family members identified the 19-year-old's body, which was found in a suitcase in a house near the Tejocote dam in San Mateo Nopala in the State of Mexico.

Karen was a university student, she enjoyed playing sports and especially loved playing flag football. She loved her pets, making her sisters laugh, and had planned a trip with her best friend. 

However, on September 22, she told her mother she was going to a pharmacy in Lomas Verdes, and she was never seen again.

Her mother launched a social media campaign and an online petition on Change.org in the hopes of finding her daughter.

At the same house where Karen's body was found, another woman, approximately 52 years old, was found in another suitcase, but her name may not be added to the list of femicides because her body has not been identified.