Juarez - Mexican anti-crime crusader's family's business torched

Relatives of an anti-crime crusader who was gunned down this week outside a Mexican state governor's office had their family business burned down today by unknown arsonists, firefighters reported. The blaze that consumed the lumber operation in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, was apparently set intentionally, the local fire department said in a statement. The business belongs to the family of Jose Monge, the husband of Marisela Escobedo Ortiz, who waged a two-year battle to bring her 17-year-old daughter's killer to justice before she herself was shot to death. Escobedo's daughter, Rubi Frayre Escobedo, disappeared in Ciudad Juarez in 2008, and her burned, dismembered remains were found in a trash bin the following June. Escobedo launched a campaign pressing for justice in the case, staging numerous marches including one when she wore no clothes, wrapped only in a banner with her daughter's photograph. The main suspect in the killing, Sergio Barraza, was ordered released in April for lack of evidence, and this week Escobedo planted herself in front of the offices of Gov. Cesar Duarte and vowed not to move until investigators showed progress in the case. Security video recorded her killing Thursday night outside the building by masked gunman who pulled up in a car and shot her in the head...more