Perla Alison, a young girl from Santa Martha Acatitla, disappeared during a short trip to buy candy — a walk she’d made countless times without worry. Her mother reported her missing immediately, and within hours the entire community and the country were searching for her.
Days later, police were alerted to a foul smell coming from an abandoned building near the Constitución de 1917 metro station. Inside, they found Perla’s body. Investigators quickly determined she had been the victim of a violent crime and opened a femicide case, shaking the community to its core.
Neighbors gathered outside the site, building a memorial and demanding justice. Police interviewed residents, reviewed footage, and combed through evidence, eventually narrowing their focus to those closest to Perla. Among the leads, inconsistencies in her father’s statements and past issues placed him under serious scrutiny, though authorities avoided making premature public accusations.
The tragedy transformed the neighborhood. Parents became fearful, children were kept closer, and the case sparked citywide conversations about child safety, abandoned properties, and the growing crisis of violence against girls.
Vigils continued as the investigation moved forward. Perla’s community refuses to let her name be forgotten — and her mother, carrying the heaviest grief, is fighting for justice that can never erase the loss but remains the only path forward.