Mystery and Tragedy: The Feminicide of Ariadna Lopez Diaz and the Unresolved Enigmas
Who was Ariadna Fernanda Lopez Diaz
Ariadna Fernanda Lopez Diaz was a 27-year-old woman who lived with her 5-year-old son and her best friend in Mexico City. Ariadna was a very funny, cheerful woman with many friends. She loved classic rock and comedy movies. Ariadna worked as a waitress at Sixtie’s but had also recently opened her own nail salon.
The Meeting at Fisher: A Night That Would Change Everything
On October 30, 2022, Ariadna agreed to meet some friends at Fisher, a local bar. She arrived at the venue around 5 p.m. to meet her 20-year-old co-worker Vanessa Flores, Vanessa’s boyfriend Rautel Astudillo, another friend named Ernesto, and his wife Anita.
Rautel was a well-known customer where Vanessa and Ariadna worked. He was wealthy, often buying lots of drinks for the ladies, always driving in armored cars worth $100,000, accompanied by at least two security guards. It was common for him to visit several times a week as he lived nearby. Rautel also had a history of dating Sixtie’s waitresses and inviting women to “continue the party at his house”; this was how he met Vanessa.
According to the Sixtie’s staff, Rautel claimed to work as a customs broker, handling the transportation of goods through customs. However, investigations by authorities revealed that his family owned a network of businesses, including a courier and mail company, a private security firm, sales of computer equipment, polyurethane belts for cars, office furniture, and car washes. One of his brothers is a lawyer, and another works for an airline.
Ariadna’s Disappearance: The Last WhatsApp View
After about an hour at Fisher, the group of friends decided to go to Rautel’s house. They shared a taxi and went to the location. Ernesto and Anita stayed only about 30 minutes in the apartment and left around 7:45 p.m. Ariadna remained in the house, and her last WhatsApp view was at 7:55 p.m. From that moment on, there was no more news of her.
Ariadna’s family and friends began to worry as they had no more news of her. Some friends even sent messages to Vanessa, but she said Ariadna had left around 9 p.m. in a taxi.
The Macabre Discovery: The Body Found 43.5 Miles Away
Until 3 days later, on November 2, two cyclists found the body of a girl near a road in a neighboring city 43.5 miles away called Tepoztlan, in the state of Morelos. The body had some tattoos, so they decided to post photos of the tattoos to see if anyone recognized her, in addition to notifying the police. One of Ariadna’s friends recognized her tattoos and went to identify the body.
The Different Versions of Ariadna’s Cause of Death and the Suspects
According to the Morelos Prosecutor’s Office, Ariadna had died from suffocation with her own vomit, as she had consumed a considerable amount of alcohol the night before. However, days later, the Mexico City Public Prosecutor’s Office denied the story, stating that Ariadna had been murdered, with the cause of death being multiple traumas.
The main suspects in the case were Vanessa and Rautel. In her statement, Vanessa said she didn’t see her friend leave because she was asleep, and when she woke up, Ariadna was no longer in the house. Rautel claimed he was too drunk to remember anything.
Evidence in Rautel’s Apartment, Controversial Confession, and Arrest
The police went to Rautel’s house and found bloodstains on the floor, in the bedroom, and on a pillow. Security camera footage from the building also showed that the next day, around 10:27 a.m., Rautel’s private driver arrived at the location but left after a few minutes. Half an hour later, Rautel was seen carrying Ariadna’s already lifeless body, putting it in the car, and heading towards Tepoztlan, where the body was found.
Vanessa was arrested on November 6, and Rautel surrendered on November 7; they are detained for the crime of feminicide, still awaiting sentencing. On November 15, Rautel confessed to taking the body to the highway but claimed Vanessa was not with him.
The Mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, accused the Morelos Prosecutor’s Office of trying to cover up the feminicide case. The Prosecutor’s Office stated that the body was indeed injured, but none of the injuries were deep enough to cause death. The case has been taken to the General Prosecutor’s Office and is under analysis.
The motive for the crime and how it really happened are still unknown.
