10-year-old girl raped and murdered in Frontino, Antioquia: $100 million reward
Jhady Sofía Osorio Mesa, aged 10, was found dead on a farm in Frontino. The autopsy ruled out suicide and confirmed homicide with evidence of sexual abuse.
Autopsy confirms homicide and sexual abuse in case of girl found dead in Frontino
The death of Jhady Sofía Osorio Mesa, aged 10, is being investigated as homicide following an autopsy that ruled out the initial hypothesis of suicide, infobae.com reported. The Antioquia Regional Government offered a reward of up to 100 million pesos for information leading to the identification and capture of those responsible.
The child was found dead on 23 September 2026 in the Las Cabras rural area, approximately 20 minutes from Frontino's town centre. Her body was suspended by the neck in the external corridor of the farm where she lived with her parents, Irma Estela Mesa and Jader Osorio.
The autopsy that changed the course of the investigation
The forensic findings established that Jhady Sofía died from asphyxiation prior to suspension. This means that lethal asphyxia occurred before the body was hanged with the rope tied to a beam in the corridor, where the family had planned to install a swing that was not yet finished.
Investigators detected at the María Antonia Toro de Elejalde medical centre a friction mark in the hyoid and infrahyoid regions of the neck. Initially these findings suggested the hypotheses of suicide or an accident involving a homemade swing. The autopsy ruled them out.
The Public Prosecutor's Office, judicial police and local authorities are focusing their investigations on the farm's surroundings and are examining whether the perpetrator had accomplices. The Antioquia Regional Government and Frontino Municipal Government asked the General Prosecutor's Office to examine the case under the hypothesis of aggravated femicide.
Reward and demand for speed
Antioquia Governor Andrés Julián Rendón announced the reward in these words: "From the Antioquia Regional Government we offer a reward of up to 100 million pesos for information that allows us to identify, capture and bring to justice those responsible for this atrocious crime."
Rendón reported that Antioquia's Women's Secretariat is accompanying the family with legal guidance and psychological care, and that department will formally request the Public Prosecutor's Office to investigate the femicide line.
The governor also demanded results: "I ask the General Prosecutor's Office to act with speed and forcefulness in this and in all cases of femicide in Antioquia."
The suspect's profile
Forensic experts consulted by the newspaper El Tiempo linked the sequence of events to an aggressor with great physical capability. The analysis considers the subduing of the child, mechanical asphyxiation and the subsequent lifting of the body to leave it suspended.
According to that reconstruction, the person responsible would have acted quickly within the time frame when the child was alone. The profile places his possible age between 20 and 50 years, due to the functional strength that would have been required to alter the scene. The experts noted that rural work can keep such physical capabilities active even in middle-aged men.
The autopsy also revealed traumatic injuries and internal lacerations which, according to the Public Prosecutor's Office technical line, would point to the intervention of another person with physical strength superior to that of the victim. The height of the suspension and the complexity of the knots do not align with the motor capabilities or height of a 10-year-old girl, according to investigators.
The reconstruction of events
According to the reconstruction published by the regional newspaper El Colombiano, the carer left the farm at 3:30 p.m. on 23 September. The father returned at 4:20 p.m., after going to town to buy materials for a family quail-raising project.
Upon his return, Jader Osorio found his daughter suspended by the neck in the corridor. He untied her and attempted to revive her before asking for help. Neighbours and rescue workers arrived at the property, but Jhady Sofía no longer showed any vital signs.
The Public Prosecutor's Office Criminal Notice recorded that police did not send patrols to the rural area due to public order problems in the municipality. The Fire Service coordinated the response and transported the body to hospital.
The aggressor's profile suggests someone known in the area
The emerging criminal profile considers that the aggressor may have known the routines of the property. Investigators believe he knew what time the carer left and how much time he had before the father's return—approximately 50 minutes, according to the family's account.
That hypothesis reinforces the possibility that the person responsible was someone known in the sector or someone whose presence would be routine for residents of the rural area.
Jhady Sofía was in sixth grade at Pedro Antonio Elejalde Educational Institution, Las Mercedes campus. Her mother said the girl wanted to be a designer, teacher or psychologist.
Source: Google News CO — Crime