Just after Vanessa Castillo gave birth in Mexico City a little over a year ago, she was told her baby was dead. Her incessant search for her child has led to the uncovering of a baby-snatching operation in which mothers were told their newborns had died while hospital staff sold them for just 15,000 pesos (1,134 dollars).
Police have arrested five staff members, including the owner, of the Hospital Central de Oriente, as well as the client who bought Castillo’s baby, according to Mexico City’s attorney general’s office.
Police say there is evidence of at least one other similar case involving the clinic, and that they are now going through hospital records and expect to uncover more.
Local newspapers are reporting that in 2005 hospital staff were accused of committing a similar crime. All were swiftly released, sparking allegations of complicity within the prosecutor’s office.
Castillo says she heard her baby cry after giving birth on October 25, 2008, but never saw her. On asking to see the tot, Castillo was told she had been transferred to another hospital. The day after giving birth, a nurse told Castillo: “Your daughter died. There was nothing that could be done for her. She was born with insufficient respiratory ability. I tried to save her, but she died.”
Castillo says she was then told her baby had already been cremated.
The broken-hearted mother’s suspicions were heightened when hospital staff refused to hand over the death certificate or the ashes.
On October 27, 2008, a member of staff told Castillo: “I already told you. She died. I took her to be incinerated. There’s nothing more to talk about or do. The documents are on the way.”
The scandal was blown open thanks to an email Castillo received from the clinic owner’s son. In it, she was told that her daughter was still alive and had been sold for 15,000 pesos.
The mother and child were reunited earlier this month.
The case is likely to continue to make headlines as police investigate the crime.
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