For three decades, the family of Mario Amado has sought justice for the Los Angeles resident who died under mysterious circumstances in a Mexican jail cell. The 29-year-old’s death on June 6, 1992, remains an unsolved mystery, with the truth shrouded in controversy and secrecy.
Mario’s weekend getaway to Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico, with his girlfriend, brother Joe Amado, and his brother’s girlfriend Deborah Larson, took a dark turn when Mario got into a fight with his girlfriend. The Mexican authorities arrested him, and he was taken to a jail in Tijuana, where he allegedly died under disputed circumstances.
According to reports, Joe and Larson returned to the house they were renting to find it empty, with a housekeeper telling them that Mario had been arrested. When police arrived later, they informed Joe that Mario had committed suicide by hanging himself in his cell using his sweater. However, an autopsy performed in Mexico concluded that Mario’s death was due to a lack of oxygen to the brain.
Undeterred by these findings, Joe refused to accept the official story and had a second autopsy performed on his brother’s body when it was brought back to the United States. This new examination revealed evidence of internal bleeding, suggesting that Mario likely died from a severe beating while in custody.
The new evidence sparked a renewed investigation into Mario’s death by Mexican authorities, who eventually charged a former Rosarito police officer, Jose Antonio Verduzco Flores, with his murder. The officer was found guilty and sentenced to 8.5 years in prison, but his sentence was later overturned on appeal, leaving the case open once again.
Joe Amado has continued to fight for justice, working closely with Representative Howard Berman, who represented California’s 26th Congressional District from 1983-2003. Rep. Berman alleged that Mexican authorities had attempted to cover up Mario’s death by withholding information from the U.S. government and allowing a period of time to elapse before taking action.
To this day, the truth behind Mario Amado’s tragic death remains unknown, with no new evidence emerging to shed light on what really happened in that Mexican jail cell three decades ago.
Source: MITU
