A 3-year-old girl has been raped and killed after her mother allegedly sold her to a drug dealer in exchange for crack cocaine in Pedro Juan Caballero, the capital city of Paraguay.
Luz Maida was awakened by her mother, Aurelia Salinas, in the middle of the night and pushed into the arms of her drug dealer boyfriend.
Salinas, 42, reportedly took the toddler in exchange for 30 pieces of crack cocaine, worth about $12.
CCTV footage heartbreakingly shows little Luz trying to tear herself away from the strange man her mother handed her over to.
Luz can be seen wearing a blue dress emblazoned with Disney’s “Frozen” characters, as the man treks down a dirty path with her slung over his shoulder.
He can be seen slapping her with his free hand to stop her fidgeting, the Sun reports.
Just over 24 hours later, the girl’s body was found by horrified neighbors inside an abandoned house.
Her corpse was found covered in a shirt and placed on top of a bed after the dealer, who has not been named, reportedly raped and murdered the 3-year-old, a report by the Daily Mail states.
Initial reports suggest the 3-year-old was suffocated.
Angry locals attempted to lynch Salinas as she was being arrested after allegedly confessing her involvement in her daughter’s murder to police, local media said.
Her boyfriend later confessed to the murder, the report added.
Salinas initially told police Luz had disappeared in her sleep, but after cops discovered the CCTV footage, she admitted to selling her for crack cocaine.
The 42-year-old has been arrested along with her boyfriend and another 17-year-old who is also believed to be involved.
Cops have allegedly said Salinas was under the influence of drugs and seemed unbothered about her daughter’s whereabouts while they searched for her.
It has also been reported that more than 300 locals attended Luz’s funeral and a group of neighbors later burned down the house where her corpse was discovered.
Investigators have claimed the family had a “history of tragedies” after the mom of eight allegedly allowed her 12-year-old daughter to be sexually abused by a 30-year-old man.
Both cases are undergoing investigation.
