A Tijuana man admitted to killing and dismembering a woman after being detained by municipal authorities on Monday, March 18th. The suspect, 25 year old Roberto Alejandro Cortez Chora, was arrested along with three family members in the death of 26 year old Claudia Verónica Palacios Espinoza. According to local police, Roberto admitted to beating and strangling the woman to death while under the influence of heroin. After committing the murder, the man asked family members to help him dismember the body and dispose of it.

As reported by the San Diego Reader on March 18th, police found the victim’s remains in a suitcase at a shanty home near the U.S. border in eastern Tijuana. The main suspect’s sister, mother, half-sister, and family friend were all arrested at the home and paraded before local media Monday evening. When police made the arrests due to an anonymous tip, gasoline was found with the suspects. Police believe the suspects intended to burn the body at the home, which lies in the colonia Las Torres.

The impoverished slum of Las Torres lies within feet of the U.S. border fence in eastern Tijuana.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/19/42184/