Female children kidnapper publicly hanged from bridge

MONTERREY, NUEVO LEÓN, MEXICO – DECEMBER 31, 2010 Gabriela Elizabeth Muñiz Tamez died on New Year’s Eve in 2010 at the age of 31. She was born into a wealthy, well-regarded family and enjoyed a privileged upbringing. She attended prestigious schools, lacked for nothing materially, and was described by those who knew her as intelligent and well-liked – though not particularly ambitious.

Opinions differ about when her life began to go off course. Some say it all started when she got involved with the wrong man while still very young. Others think she craved danger and sought a thrill outside the routine of her privileged life. Whatever the cause, by the end of her teenage years she had begun slipping into a criminal underworld – a path that eventually led to a horrifying and very public execution.

By her early twenties, Gabriela – known locally as “La Pelirroja” because of her striking red hair – had become a key figure in a group involved in kidnappings and extortion. Her crew operated with close ties to the Gulf Cartel, and she was romantically linked to one of its high-ranking members, Yair Pérez López.

In 2009, she and several associates were arrested and charged with multiple crimes, including assault and kidnapping. Her targets were often young children from affluent families, and she would extract large ransoms from their parents.

She began serving her sentence in mid-2010. After only six months behind bars, she was part of a dramatic escape. Corrupt prison doctors signed off on false medical documents claiming she needed urgent hospital treatment. Minutes after the prison transport left, the vehicle was intercepted by armed men in a van who retrieved her without resistance. The ease of the escape and its precise execution sparked a major scandal, pointing to extensive bribery within the justice system.

To this day, it remains unclear who arranged the breakout. Some speculate that Yair orchestrated it to silence her before she could reveal incriminating information. Others believe it may have been a rival or enemy seeking revenge.

Four days later, Gabriela’s fate was sealed. Her body was discovered hanging from the Gonzalitos pedestrian bridge in Monterrey – the same bridge that crosses above a busy bus stop. Witnesses waiting for their early-morning commute watched the horrifying scene unfold in real time.

According to their accounts, a van pulled onto the bridge and several armed men dragged out a struggling woman. She fought hard as they stripped off her shirt, painted something on her exposed torso, and beat her. They then tied a noose around her neck and forced her over the railing. She tried to save herself by gripping the edge, but they pried her fingers loose and let her drop.

People below reported hearing her screams as she fell. The fall wasn’t long enough to break her neck, so she thrashed in the air for over 30 seconds before going still – all in full view of stunned commuters.

An autopsy later confirmed she died from asphyxiation, not a broken neck. Witness statements matched: she had still been alive when thrown from the bridge.

The word “YAIR” was found painted across her chest – a chilling reference to her ex-lover from the cartel. He was arrested two years later and admitted to killing 21 people, but never mentioned Gabriela. Whether he was behind her death or not may never be definitively proven.

Her death made headlines nationwide. Graphic, uncensored photos of her semi-nude body hanging from the bridge flooded Mexican newspapers the next morning. But there was little public sympathy. For most, she was just another criminal – a kidnapper and extortionist whose end was seen as fitting. Only a few remembered the bright and promising girl she once was, destroyed by a world she chose and a man who may have ultimately betrayed her.

READ MORE:
https://www.foxnews.com/world/woman-hanged-from-overpass-in-northern-mexico