The desert sky is vast and cloudless. It shelters all and hides nothing. The desert sun is unforgiving. It bleaches all beneath it. The desert breeze walks through the landscape, softening the searing sun, or freezing beneath the evening star. It is a landscape of extremes. A desert landscape can be beautiful - cactus flowers, an endless horizon, creatures which thrive somehow. But in Ciudad Juarez it is a backdrop for murder. It is a vast unwilling graveyard.
1993 brought the first reported discovery of broken bodies beneath this particular patch of sky. Some children searching the desert for scrap to sell found bodies instead. The children ran home to report the grisly find. Soon it was discovered those bodies had been young women who were raped, mutilated, and murdered. Their bodies were then dumped in the desert to rot. This unceremonious discard was not the final indignity. The final, and continuing dignity is not only that justice was never found. These murdered women had many, many sisters in years to come. In fact their number still increases, to this day. And it is not only the women of Juarez who must fear this fate, but women throughout the state of Chihuahua, Mexico as well.
A woman’s life is always shadowed by the possibility of sexual violence, even of death. But it seems nowhere on earth does the spectre loom with impunity as it does in Juarez. Journalist Teresa Rodriguez has attempted to look at why and how this has occurred - and how it continues unimpeded. Despite a few token arrests, despite task forces, including FBI involvement, despite press conferences, marches, protests - murdered bodies multiply in number in and around Juarez. At last count, hundreds found scattered in the desert sand. Some bodies even were even buried in the center of town. Clearly the monster not only prowls without hesitation but mocks its own capture. In Chihuahua City the same crimes occur with frequency as well, and Daughters of Juarez: A True Story of Serial Murder South of the Border discusses those crimes too. It is all connected impeccably in these pages.
The story of the Juarez murders has inspired countless newspaper and internet articles, television news stories, even a protest song written by singer Tori Amos. The monster, however, doesn’t flinch - it keeps stalking, it keeps killing. Unraveling what has gone wrong in this enormous string of serial murders, and why the numbers increase, seems a gargantuan task. And yet, Ms. Rodriguez’ investigatory book has done a miraculous thing. It explains what happened - patiently and factually. It explains what has gone wrong with the attempts to solve this crime. It illuminates the darkness surrounding the terrible story. Without that light the story seems overwhelming and good people might turn away. This work sheds light.
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