News Feature | January 30, 2015

Remains Of Mexican Actress Found In Water System

Sara Jerome

By Sara Jerome,
@sarmje

Strange-tasting tap water in Mexico City turned out to have a tragic origin after the body of an aspiring actress was found decomposing in the water system in December.

"Residents of an apartment building in Mexico City had been complaining for months about the strange taste of their drinking water. When council workers finally responded to the complaints and checked the city’s water supply, they were shocked to discover a decaying body floating inside the cistern," the Inquisitr reported.

The remains of 27-year-old Carmen Yarira Noriega Esparza, a psychology graduate who had been reported missing a year before, were not recognizable when the body was found, but authorities eventually identified her. Her body was found in a filtration tank.

"Carmen’s family and investigators were surprised to find her body in the water tank of her own apartment building, the Chapultepec. The tank was opened on December 23. TV Notas reported that the autopsy revealed strangulation as the cause of the actress’ death," the report continued.

Esparza's family and friends believed she had been abducted.

"We all thought that she might have been kidnapped and sold off into the sex trafficking industry," said Javier Paz, a friend, per KIROTV. “It seems that her body was back in her apartment block the whole time."

"She was a talented and beautiful woman who dreamed of being an actress," he said, per the Daily Mail.

Authorities are continuing to investigate.

"Police are now focusing their enquiries on Ms. Esparza's former partner, a wealthy businessman who had been paying the rent for her flat. Ms. Esparza had recently ended the relationship after meeting a wealthy lawyer, and disappeared just one week before she was supposed to move out of the flat, [according to] local news reports," the report said.