The mysterious death of a four-year-old girl has been ruled an accident, but some think she was killed by someone in the family.Background
Paulette Farah was a four-year-old girl who lived in Mexico with her mother Lisette, father Mauricio and seven-year-old sister.Paulette was born very small, and doctors did not know if she would survive. Fortunately, she survived, but she had developmental problems: the girl could not walk without assistance and did not speak well.
Paulette’s family was very wealthy: Lisette and Mauricio even hired two nannies (sisters Erika and Marta Casimiro) to help take care of the girls.
The disappearance of Paulette Farah.On March 19, 2010, Mauricio took both of his daughters on a short vacation to Valle de Bravo. His wife also went to a friend’s house, but it was later revealed that she was actually dating a man with whom she was having an affair.
The girls and their father returned on March 21, 2010. Lisette tucked her daughters into bed, kissed them good night, turned off the lights and left the room. The next morning, Erica went into Paulette’s room to wake her up and make her bed (as she did every morning), but the girl was not in her room. Erica went downstairs to tell her parents that Paulette was missing.
Erica and Martha searched everywhere for Paulette. They even searched Lisette and Mauricio’s room, but there was no sign of her there either. Strangely enough, her parents were very calm, as if it was just an ordinary day. They didn’t even help look for her.
The Search for Paulette Farah.The parents reported their daughter’s disappearance to the police.Forensics searched the entire apartment at least five times, but they found nothing worthwhile: there were no signs of forced entry, no signs of a struggle, nothing…The parents claimed that everything seemed quite normal the night she went missing, not even the dogs barking.
Many interviews were conducted at the time of her disappearance, especially with Lisette. One interview was recorded when she was in Paulette’s room and sitting on the edge of her bed, which will be important later on.Paulette’s picture was on billboards, in newspapers, magazines, and on television.
Nine days later, on March 31, 2010, Paulette’s body was found huddled in a corner at the foot of the bed.In the very spot where Lisette had been sitting for her interview.Not only was Lisette sitting on the bed where her child’s body lay, but so many people were looking for the girl in this very room…A close family friend, Amanda de la Rosa, had been living with the family for days after Paulette disappeared and had slept in her bed every night.
Forensic experts argued that the body could not have been there longer than three days, “leaving no odor.”However, they ruled Paulette’s death an accident: the girl died of suffocation. No traces of illegal substances or physical abuse were found.Authorities even had the babysitters videotape themselves making the bed, and judging by the way they did it, they may well have missed the body.
Unfortunately, Paulette’s room was not marked as a crime scene to begin with. There were footprints and fingerprints everywhere, lots of DNA, so it was very difficult to try to identify the suspect.The basic theory was that Lisette might have killed her daughter because of her inability to cope with all her faults.
Lisette seemed unemotional and unconcerned about the girl: “Even if I lose Paulette, I will still have another daughter.”Whenever she was accused of being involved in the murder, she was simply angry and defensive, as well as anxious.
According to another version, it was the nannies who committed the murder, because they were the ones who discovered that the baby girl was missing. People thought it was odd that they made the bed without noticing the girl’s body.
It was also assumed that the family was facing financial difficulties, so they staged the kidnapping to get money from the state or from Paulette’s grandparents. People speculated that Mauricio and Lisette may have hidden their daughter in a vent (or something like that) but couldn’t get back to her in time because they were busy with investigators, the news media, and interviews. And the little girl suffocated.
Soon Lisette, Mauricio, and the two nannies were taken into custody. This was because they kept correcting and changing their statements. Still, Paulette’s death was ruled an accident.
Lisette, Mauricio, and the nannies were not charged.After his release, Mauricio began accusing his wife of being responsible for their daughter’s death: “The only thing I can say is that for me it was not an accident.
Meanwhile, Lisette was shattered; she believed that the media had brainwashed her husband. But Mauricio stuck to his opinion and did not attend his daughter’s funeral. So did his in-laws.
Consequences
The couple soon divorced. Lisette gained custody of her eldest daughter. But from time to time she gives interviews about Paulette.Mauricio went on to live a quiet and secluded life. Since then, he has stayed away from the media.What really happened to Paulette remains a mystery to this day.