UPDATE: On Wednesday, Baja California’s district attorney provided more details to NBC 7 about the case of Leah Hernadez, 22, who was found dead July 15 in a hotel in Tijuana.
This week, the prosecutors said authorities determined Leah’s Hernadez's was an involuntary manslaughter. Her parents, though, are certain she was murdered.
Ricardo Iván Carpio Sánchez, Baja California District Attorney, said Wednesday that investigators found traces of controlled substances in her body, including methamphetamine, which caused a failure to her respiratory system.
Hernandez's father, Javier, though, said the official statement does not address his concerns.
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"How did she end up in that hotel," Javier wonders. "Who was there? Where is her clothing? Where are her possessions, belongings?"
Javier said I.D. or passport and the gold chain she was wearing earlier that day — when a photo was taken — are missing. He said she had nothing on her when he identified her body.
According to the Baja California district attorney, Leah's body showed no signs of violence, but her father believes there’s more to his daughter’s death.
"I would like for the DA to tell me why my daughter’s face had marks on her mouth and lips," Javier said.
A Barrio Logan family is grieving the death of their daughter after she was found dead in a hotel in Tijuana last weekend.
Leah Hernandez, 22, was found dead on July 15 in a hotel after hanging out with some friends. According to her parents, Leah told them that she would be going out with some friends Friday night, but on Saturday morning she was not in her room.
"I felt something wasn't right, and I called her phone, and it went to voicemail," said Javier Hernandez, Leah’s father.
After his desperation, the father contacted the friends with whom his daughter went out with, who gave him the news he did not expect.
"We didn't know she was going to Tijuana," he said.
The parents said their daughter didn't usually go to clubs in Tijuana, but according to the friends, the three visited several bars on Avenida Revolucion, but Leah disappeared.
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So, the parents headed south of the border in search of answers.
"They told me, ‘Go to the medical examiner’s (SEMEFO) office to identify a body because we have someone who is named Leah,’” the father told Telemundo 20.
Leah's body had been located at the San Ysidro Hotel on Coahuila Street in Tijuana.
"We looked at her little face and saw it had been beaten," the father said.
According to the Baja California State Prosecutor's Office (FGE), Leah's body showed no signs of violence, but they determined it to be a culpable homicide, and SEMEFO ruled the cause of death of the young woman as asphyxia by broncho-aspiration of gastric contents.
The father said he believes there may be more to the story than the police are saying.
"Who was with her? Who rented the hotel? Who found her? How did they find her?” questioned the father.
"It's impotence, you let your children go to enjoy your roots and they kill our children and relatives, and there is no response from the police," he added.
The parents hope that anyone who has information about what led to their daughter's death will come forward to find justice.
His daughter's body is already in San Diego as they plan funeral services. A GoFundMe has been set up to help with expenses.
This story was originally reported by NBC 7's sister station, Telemundo 20. To read the article, click here.
