$100 million reward for murder of 10-year-old girl in Frontino, Antioquia
The Antioquia Governorate is offering $100 million for information about the killer of Jhady Sofía Osorio Mesa, a 10-year-old girl murdered in Frontino on 23 September.
Antioquia Governorate offers reward for murder of girl in Frontino
The Antioquia Governorate announced a reward of up to 100 million pesos for information leading to the identification, capture and prosecution of the person responsible for the murder of Jhady Sofía Osorio Mesa, a 10-year-old girl whose body was found on 23 September on a farm in Las Cabras village, Frontino municipality. The case was documented by elcolombiano.com, whose reporting prompted the official statement.
"The murder of little Jhady Sofía Osorio Mesa in Frontino cannot go unpunished! From the Antioquia Governorate we are offering a reward of up to 100 million pesos for information that makes it possible to identify, capture and bring to justice those responsible for this atrocious crime," wrote governor Andrés Julián Rendón on his X account.
Rendón also indicated that the Antioquia Women's Secretariat is accompanying the family through the justice process and is offering legal guidance and psychological care. The governor also called on the Prosecutor's Office to investigate the incident under the femicide hypothesis and to act "swiftly and decisively in this and in all femicide cases in Antioquia".
A window of 50 minutes
Jhady lived with her parents, Jader Osorio—who worked in agriculture—and Irma Estela Mesa, a preschool teacher, on a farm in Las Cabras village, located 20 minutes from the town centre of Frontino. She was in sixth grade at the Pedro Antonio Elejalde Educational Institution, Las Mercedes campus.
On 23 September, the girl left school after midday and arrived at the farm, where the carer served her lunch and left at 3:30 p.m. Jhady remained alone, doing schoolwork, waiting for her father, who was buying school supplies in town.
Jader returned at 4:20 p.m. Upon entering, he found his daughter suspended by the neck in the external corridor, hung with the rope of a handmade swing that hung from a beam. The family had been setting up that swing for a niece and had not yet finished it. The father untied her and attempted to revive her, but the girl did not respond. He then called the police station.
According to the Criminal Report filed by the Prosecutor's Office and known exclusively by elcolombiano.com, the police did not send patrols to the village "for reasons of public order occurring in this municipality". Initial assistance was coordinated with the Fire Department, whose members arrived at the scene and found Jhady with no signs of life.
The post-mortem examination that changed the investigation
The body was transferred to María Antonia Toro De Elejalde Hospital, where forensic experts observed a friction groove in the hyoid and infrahyoid region. Initially, theories included suicide—although the minor had never shown signs of depression—or accidental death whilst playing with the swing.
Eight days later, the Legal Medicine post-mortem examination completely changed the investigation. "They told me that the Legal Medicine post-mortem had come back: my daughter was raped, then she was strangled with a rough rope and then she was hanged," Irma Mesa recounted in conversation with elcolombiano.com.
The killer had sexually abused the girl, strangled her and then manipulated the crime scene to simulate a suicide. All of the assault occurred in the 50-minute window when Jhady was alone on the farm.
Ongoing investigation
Authorities are now awaiting the results of a second Legal Medicine examination, aimed at establishing whether there are traces of the femicide perpetrator under the victim's fingernails, on her clothing and on her intimate parts.
"For us it is very important that justice is done. We ask for help from the community, so that it will please help us find those responsible. And also from the authorities and the governor of Antioquia, so that they give priority to this case, because it is stalled," Irma requested.
Jhady Sofía was buried in the cemetery of Bello municipality. Her mother recalled that the girl dreamed of becoming a designer, teacher or psychologist, like her older sister. In Las Cabras village, meanwhile, the community lives in fear that a child predator continues to be in the area.
Source: Google News CO — Crime