Texas Teen Dies in Mexico
[Guest post by DRJ]
The BP oil spill has been supplanted in the Houston headlines by the death of Elizabeth Mandala, a Sugar Land senior who rode horses and friends say dreamed of being a prom queen. Mandala disappeared last week and was found dead in a wrecked pickup in Mexico. Subsequently, Mexican authorities announced Mandala and 2 Mexican men had been beaten to death and left in a staged accident, with a rock on the truck’s accelerator.
As sad as that is, the rest of the story is unbelievable:
“The Sugar Land high school senior found beaten to death in Mexico last weekend wanted to be a coyote who smuggled illegal immigrants across the border and also worked as a stripper, according to her mother’s statement to police, a Houston Police Department missing persons report reveals.
Elisabeth Mandala, 18, who attended Kempner High School in the Fort Bend Independent School District, was found dead Saturday along with the bodies of two men on the highway to Monclova, just west of Mina, a town of 6,000 near Monterrey.
The pickup had been staged to look as if it had been involved in an accident, but investigators found evidence the truck’s accelerator may have been jammed with a rock, according to the Monterrey newspapers, Milenio and El Norte
“It’s pretty apparent she was doing stuff down there she shouldn’t have been,” said a law enforcement source close to the investigation who asked not to be identified by name.”
We have more problems than immigration if a teenager can go to school and dream of being a prom queen during the week, while spending the weekend starting her career as a human smuggler.
— DRJ
> wanted to be a coyote who smuggled illegal immigrants across the border and also worked as a stripper,
Hey, man, she was just one of those modern “gonna have it all” feminists.
I’m sure she also planned to be a doctor, a lawyer, and raise five kids while adopting four more from guatemala and belize… without getting married.
IgotBupkis (79d71d) — 5/6/2010 @ 12:32 amUnbelievable indeed.
How does a teenage kid rent a car? Who in the hell employed her (assuming she was stripping in Houston, which I guess is a stupid assumption)?
Laura Palmer here had informed her mom of her human trafficking intention, so I’m sure the mom is struggling with the fact that she had enough information to act and stop her daughter from leaving the house. Of course, by the time they are that age, if you haven’t learned the right yet, what can you do? She looks like such a young pretty girl who should have had all kinds of better things to do with her life than go to Mexico.
I said it before in a different thread, but we need to take measures to improve Mexico’s situation (And I don’t mean pour money into it). That country is terrible, and until it becomes a nation of laws and opportunities, the USA and Mexicans are going to suffer for it.
Whatever trade we have with them should be conditioned on some major overhauls. And if that’s not enough we should go farther.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 5/6/2010 @ 2:13 amTeenagers are imaginative and adventurous while being inexperienced and often dream of doing things that are very dangerous to them. Girls not necessarilly any less so than boys.
nk (db4a41) — 5/6/2010 @ 3:47 amI’m pleased your high school was nice, Patterico. I can’t even mention what I knew about a few of the people in mine. I might get sued.
tehag (be95e1) — 5/6/2010 @ 4:01 amnk, indeed, there’s a little rebel in every teenager, and a lot of rebel in many.
But if their mama knows they like to smuggle people and sell their nudity, well… JD would very rightfully point out my views as ‘judgey’ on that. I think you make a point about imagination. Do Sugar Land’s students understand what Mexico is these days? An awful lot of movies make it seem like a kickass joint for a little harmless fun. If we point out that it is a fundamentally worse place to be, that folks can be realistically scared of entering, is that politically incorrect?
tehag, Patterico didn’t write this post. But you hardly have to live a sheltered life to recognize that this is pretty ridiculous behavior.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 5/6/2010 @ 4:16 amI had this conversation with my wife. She told me to be careful what ideas I put into our daughter’s head (horses, archery, fencing, martial arts). My reply was that I did not write Huckleberry Finn, or the Percy Jackson stories, or Spy Kids, to mention a few. There’s a lot of stuff in popular literature and other arts that inflame a kid’s imagination and the best the parents can do is keep an eye on their kids and hope to intervene at the right time.
nk (db4a41) — 5/6/2010 @ 4:52 amAnd that is one of a parent’s major duties, isn’t it? stifling your kid’s imagination.
Icy Texan (ee62c3) — 5/6/2010 @ 5:26 amThe problem is not stifling imagination. It is teaching them that is requires lots of hard work, a little luck and some DNA to get there.
Talking imagination without the rest is simply wacking off — which is what many parents are, wack-offs.
HeavenSent (a9126d) — 5/6/2010 @ 5:33 amAnd frankly, if she was doing what she was … Darwinism Lives.
If black kids can be portrayed as savages at age 17 for dealing and killing … so can this girl. F’her.
HeavenSent (a9126d) — 5/6/2010 @ 5:35 amImagination is a good thing if you have the muscle, knowledge and experience to back it up. The difference between hero, victim, and prison inmate can be razor thin. Parents should not stifle their child’s imagination, but they should protect her from its possibly horrible consequences.
And I am not, under any circumstances, going to feel anything other than sorry for this girl and her family.
nk (db4a41) — 5/6/2010 @ 5:44 amFencing and martial arts (traditional) are great (in my book). If you get a child interested in “exciting” things in the proper context then they have an outlet for the energy and drive. My boys fenced all they wanted- at the salle’ with proper protective equipment with zero tolerance for unsafe horseplay at home.
As with most tragedies, lots of blame to spread around- including a society that thinks enforcing immigration laws is a bad thing (hence cool to be a coyote) and protects licentiousness as the norm (see the Cosmopolitan and Cosmo Teen at the supermarket check out).
Very sad.
MD in Philly (ea3785) — 5/6/2010 @ 6:07 amDoesn’t the whole “coyote by day, stripper by night” scenario seem a little bit far-fetched? I wouldn’t be so quick to take the mother’s alleged statement to police at face value.
Icy Texan (ee62c3) — 5/6/2010 @ 6:24 amI think residents of TX ought to be questioning their elected office holders, as well as people in other states, concerning the attitude MD posts about. Is his/her legislation and pronouncements supporting illegal actions? Are they looking at the “unintended” consequences of their agenda?
PCD (1d8b6d) — 5/6/2010 @ 6:26 amIcy Texan,
You do remind us of a point that is certainly true, that the “real” story is often not what first comes out. But unless the mom was involved in the murder herself or covering up for someone else it would seem odd that she would have a reason to make such false statements. But then again, stranger things have happened on this Earth.
MD in Philly (ea3785) — 5/6/2010 @ 6:29 ami would just wonder why all of this is being splashed on the front page. yeah, the story is sensational, but when did we get a right to have a window into this private family’s sorrow?
I just have to feel for the family, which must be mortified not only to learn all of this about her, but to have everyone else learn about it, too.
A.W. (e7d72e) — 5/6/2010 @ 6:37 amMD, I just see a lot of hints & allegations — “facts” without proof or proper context. If this girl attended high school by day and worked as a stripper by night, how did her mom even know when to expect her to be home?
[BTW, most 18-year-old strippers don’t live at home; they can afford not to. Plus, it’s a pretty safe bet that a chaotic home life was a factor in them becoming strippers in the first place. The believability in the mom’s statement is highly questionable.]
How did she rent a car? It’s pretty universal that you need to be 25 to do that.
Having said all that, I will agree with nk that it’s a tragedy she was murdered, regardless of whatever stupid thing she might have been doing.
Icy Texan (ee62c3) — 5/6/2010 @ 6:57 amWas she enacting some kind of bizarre, new – Millennium plotline cribbed from the 80’s movie “Flahsdance?” First thing I thought of was the hackneyed “arc welder by day, exotic dancer at night.” I’ve never even seen that inane flick, but everyone of a certain age remembers it – just insane.
Dmac (21311c) — 5/6/2010 @ 7:08 amThe world kids grow up in is very different than even a couple decades ago. I am curious as to what lessons or conclusions her classmates and other teens her age who hear about this tragedy may draw from it, and how it may affect their thinking and future actions–if at all. I hope that other parents and school officials will be alert to watch for clues. In general it’s too bad our society seems to rely so much on “grief counselors” after the fact, and not enough on parenting before the fact.
elissa (880293) — 5/6/2010 @ 7:13 amIcy Texan – at least ten years ago, when I had friends trying to do it, it was possible to rent a car while under 25; the trouble was just that there were a limited number of companies willing to do it, and prices were substantially higher.
aphrael (73ebe9) — 5/6/2010 @ 7:33 amand not enough on parenting before the fact.
Comment by elissa — 5/6/2010 @ 7:13 am
Too true. The last analysis of Chicago’s murder victims I saw the overwhelming number (as many as 87%) were very young and involved in gang activity of some sort.
From my feral teenagers who think it’s cool to hang out with a gang, steal bicycles and do drugs: Those with attentive parents get transferred to a different school, get picked up by their parents after school, and spend their summmer vacations in an Idaho primitive survival camp. Those with indifferent parents, go to St. Charles or Joliet.
nk (db4a41) — 5/6/2010 @ 7:38 amUnless Texas is vastly different than California I assume the old saw holds that throw enough money at a stripper and you get a whore, so I imagine this girl was doing a lot more than just taking her clothes off on a stage.
Can you imagine being the boy who took her to homecoming and prom?
JVW (0d4a6b) — 5/6/2010 @ 8:10 amWhat parents fail to do, more often than not these days, is to teach their offspring that actions have consequences. Whereas this teenage girl chose to sell her flesh and indulge in ILLEGAL activities she realized the reality of those choices. Unfortunately for her those choices got her killed. Mom should be proud.
PatriotRider (103218) — 5/6/2010 @ 8:16 amComment by nk
summmer vacations in an Idaho primitive survival camp
Do you know any that are “relatively affordable”?
Comment by PatriotRider
Mom should be proud.
I doubt that she is, and we don’t know what she did or did not try in an attempt to help her daughter, or how she did or didn’t contribute to the problem.
In my experience as a physician, often, if not usually, a girl or woman who is acting way outside the boundaries of what is considered “acceptible” has a history of abuse. Which again mom may have contributed to the problem or done incredible things in an attempt to overcome.
I understand that in some locals a parent can go to family court with a teen and get some muscle to go along with what they are trying to do themselves- but I think that is only in areas with relatively low needs and high resources. I know in Philadelphia no such help is available. The courts do not have the resources to help a parent make an intervention early on, as they have their hands full of dealing with those already far gone.
MD in Philly (ea3785) — 5/6/2010 @ 8:37 amI would rather my daughters not grow up. I prefer to deal with issues like do they have enough Silly Bandz, or why my youngest refuses to wear a particular pair of jeans. Simple things. Innocent. Not this kind of crap. Prescription medications will be required, in large doses.
JD (0f9c01) — 5/6/2010 @ 8:46 amWell, I don’t think she was bringing just any kind of illegals over the border, if she was working in the sex industry. Look for ACORN ties.
jcurtis (138cbe) — 5/6/2010 @ 8:57 amsummmer vacations in an Idaho primitive survival camp
Do you know any that are “relatively affordable”?
I’ll ask.
nk (db4a41) — 5/6/2010 @ 9:04 amThere is some kind of ‘equivalence’ made with fencing, archery, and martial arts as dangerous activities. For all of those, there is a real metric for achievement. Strippers’ only metric is a fistful of dirty dollar bills. This might be sad, but the loss to a civil society probably happened years ago.
TimesDisliker (0e2c68) — 5/6/2010 @ 9:15 amComment by TimesDisliker
I think the original comment concerning fencing/martial arts, etc. was intended as irony/humor of what some people, including perhaps the poster’s wife, thought was dangerous; when one would actually love to have a child with head gear trading blows and kicks at a dojo than caught up with life on the street and what it would lead to.
Yes, “we” really don’t consider an equivalence at all. Fencing (done appropriately) is probably safer than any other more common sport, such as basketball, soccer, and volleyball.
MD in Philly (ea3785) — 5/6/2010 @ 9:33 amThe most serious and violent injuries I ever incurred were in basketball, MD, which is not really supposed to be a contact sport. Ruptured multiple discs (L3-S1), tore ACL, MCL and PCL all at once, turned an ankle so hard that my ankle bone that protrudes out (talus?) fractured from contact with the floor, fractured coccyx, fractured orbital socket from a flying elbow, countless stitches and butterfly bandages, and had the wind knocked out of me more times than I could count.
JD (0f9c01) — 5/6/2010 @ 9:47 amJD
It sounds like you played what my friends and I called “Cro-Magnon” basketball when we were younger. Did you ever decide to take up something safer, like X-treme motorcycle???
Fencing actually is mainly linear movement forward and backward, so you don’t have nearly as many knee and ankle injuries.
MD in Philly (ea3785) — 5/6/2010 @ 10:21 amNose broken half a dozen times or so was the worst in my case (boxing). Did you know that it doesn’t hurt after the first time? I think my sciatica was just old age and a misstep just walking down my street.
nk (db4a41) — 5/6/2010 @ 10:28 amI got my knees blown out while attempting to play JV football. After that fiasco, it was cross – country running and getting a job at 16.
Those with indifferent parents, go to St. Charles or Joliet.
Good point, and having grown up less than a half mile from the St. Charles facility, I can vouch for it’s nastiness.
Dmac (21311c) — 5/6/2010 @ 11:05 amThis case was first reported in the Houston Chronicle as the death of a high school girl in a car wreck in Mexico. The other details only came out after the Mexican authorities revised the cause of death to a homicide staged to look like a wreck. By then, the story was already in the news.
It’s unfortunate for the family these details had to become public. But teen deaths in Mexico are still news in Texas and, in this case, her choices appear to have contributed to her death.
I can’t get a handle on this girl’s family and background. Are they well-to-do or a lower income family? The area they live in sounds upscale — nice homes, horseback riding, and what sounds like a good school — but that doesn’t mean everyone has money. I’m curious about that because it factors into whether she did this for money, kicks, or if someone close to her introduced her to it.
DRJ (d43dcd) — 5/6/2010 @ 11:26 amMD, try the Marine Corp League in Norwalk, CT. My friend used to show the little snots what Old Corps boot camp was like.
Mal, once showed a jerk of a kid and his jerk of a father what happened to jerks in Old Corps boot camp. The wife of the jerk father was eternally grateful for the positive change in the jerks after one session.
PCD (1d8b6d) — 5/6/2010 @ 12:22 pmJD, My little ladies are in their 20s. The younger one prefers to wear dresses on dates. The older one doesn’t date, but wears dresses to dress up. Both do wear Harley Motorcycle Boots to work, though.
PCD (1d8b6d) — 5/6/2010 @ 12:26 pmPCD-
Thanks for the suggestion (I’m asking for general knowledge base, not a specific need). I know a great place in Utah, but not easily affordable to the majority of folk.
Do your daughters mentor tweens on how to get to 20 without incident?
I watched the Monkees when I was young without too much harm, I think. But the trajectory of the Brittanys and Lindseys (and the yet to be seen Miley’s, Selenas, and Demis) is disconcerting.
MD in Philly (ea3785) — 5/6/2010 @ 1:15 pmMom, I want you to meet my new friends…
JoeS (0d5386) — 5/6/2010 @ 4:47 pmThis report states that the mother just recently discovered her daughter was an “exotic dancer”, so she may not have had a hand in this. I’m going to assume that because it’s just awful to think a mom gave approval, tacitly or otherwise for her daughter (albeit 18) to take that job, especially when she was still living under her parent’s roof.
It’s not a stretch to see a teenager romanticize the coyotes. When we have Mao and Che embedded and embraced into our pop culture by the romanticizing of American youth, smuggling a poverty stricken people into the land of opportunity actually seem much more understandable. Shorthand: One would be helping an oppressed people with no opportunity to know freedom and the ability to make a life for themselves. It’s not a stretch at all to see that a young person might view this as even a noble cause.
Dana (1e5ad4) — 5/6/2010 @ 6:10 pmGo look at her Facebook page. A cleavage laden little black dress and a cocktail. 18 like 25.
Bill M (a1726a) — 5/6/2010 @ 6:15 pmi used to play archery but quit this sport after i got some elbow surgery.::-
Gabrielle Ross (0916c8) — 7/10/2010 @ 5:37 ami used to play archery but quit this sport after i got some elbow surgery.::”
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