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In Mexico, No Room at the Morgue

By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 8, 2009 4:55 PM CDT
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(Newser) – As Mexico's drug war erupted in Ciudad Juarez, the bloody results inevitably ended up in one place—the city's overwhelmed morgue. Some 2,300 victims of violence rolled through its doors last year, reports the AP, a flood of death that has resulted in stacked cadavers and plans to double the building's size. "There are times when there are so many people, so many cadavers, that we can't keep up," says the morgue director in neighboring Tijuana.

Which leaves overworked staff to sort through the grisly clues. As one doctor autopsied her third beaten and decapitated body in a week, she had to decide between cerebral hemorrhage, asphyxiation, heart attack, and decapitation as cause of death. "Every organ speaks," says one mortician.

Numbered markers on the pavement determine the location of bullet casings found at the scene of a shootout where gunmen killed four police officers in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Feb. 17, 2009.
Numbered markers on the pavement determine the location of bullet casings found at the scene of a shootout where gunmen killed four police officers in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Feb. 17, 2009.   (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
A forensic expert examines the body of a man killed in a street of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Feb. 18, 2009. Bodies stacked in the morgues of Mexico's border cities tell the story of an escalating drug war.
A forensic expert examines the body of a man killed in a street of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Feb. 18, 2009. Bodies stacked in the morgues of Mexico's border cities tell the story of an escalating drug...   (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
The shadows of curious onlookers and journalists on the pavement behind a police line at the scene where one man was found dead in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Feb. 18, 2008.
The shadows of curious onlookers and journalists on the pavement behind a police line at the scene where one man was found dead in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Feb. 18, 2008.   (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Bodies awaiting autopsies crowd a walk-in refrigerator at the morgue in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico Feb. 18, 2009.
Bodies awaiting autopsies crowd a walk-in refrigerator at the morgue in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico Feb. 18, 2009.   (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias)
A body bag with the address where an unidentified body was found is seen at the morgue in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Feb. 18, 2009.
A body bag with the address where an unidentified body was found is seen at the morgue in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Feb. 18, 2009.   (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
A coroner at the morgue examines the badly bruised back of a man that was tortured, decapitated, and dumped in a street in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Feb. 18, 2009.
A coroner at the morgue examines the badly bruised back of a man that was tortured, decapitated, and dumped in a street in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Feb. 18, 2009.   (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Brown paper bags containing clothing from dead people or objects they had at the time of their death, are stacked on a shelves at the morgue in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Feb. 18, 2009.
Brown paper bags containing clothing from dead people or objects they had at the time of their death, are stacked on a shelves at the morgue in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Feb. 18, 2009.   (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
A forensic worker arranges bodies inside a walk-in refrigerator at the morgue in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Feb. 18, 2009.
A forensic worker arranges bodies inside a walk-in refrigerator at the morgue in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Feb. 18, 2009.   (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Numbered boxes containing evidence gathered during autopsies are stacked against a wall at the morgue in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Feb. 18, 2009.
Numbered boxes containing evidence gathered during autopsies are stacked against a wall at the morgue in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Feb. 18, 2009.   (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Bloodied plastic bags and tape that were used to wrap a decapitated head found in a street are discarded after being examined at the morgue in Ciudad Juarez on Feb. 18, 2009.
Bloodied plastic bags and tape that were used to wrap a decapitated head found in a street are discarded after being examined at the morgue in Ciudad Juarez on Feb. 18, 2009.   (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 7 comments
riffran
Mar 13, 2009 3:33 AM CDT
Good and valid point shannonals.....I live in South Texas and see some of the "not so obvious" stuff on an occasion...and not all of them are hispanic, they span the entire cross section of our population
Shannonals
Mar 11, 2009 4:11 AM CDT
It should be pointed out that if the Mexican cartel was operating in your neck of the woods, you wouldn't even be aware of it. Not everyone in the cartel is Mexican, as much as alot of people would want you to believe, so as long as the violence stays across the border, I'm not concerned. It's a shame about the loss of human life, but if the Mexican people and government aren't helping themselves, it's not a US concern unless acts of violence happen here
riffran
Mar 9, 2009 6:41 AM CDT
oooops I forgot.....YEEEEEEEEEEEEEHA......(beware the armed red neck )

Obama looks to help Mexico fight drug war
Associated Press

Out of Mexico's drug war comes a new class of refugees
Los Angeles Times

 
murder • violence • Mexican drug war • decapitation • morgue • Ciudad Juarez

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