Little did I know when I entered my salon to have my hair cut that my life would be profoundly changed. I am on a mission and am hoping some of you will get angry enough to write your senators, congressmen, the media, even the president -- whatever it takes to right this injustice. On September 8th, 26-year-old Daniela Lopez was tortured, repeatedly stabbed, violently scratched and perhaps raped before her throat was slit and her naked body was left under a tree by the side of the road one mile from the place she was residing in Ecuador during her visit. She was a United States citizen. Her mother, Maria Gloria Lema Lopez, emigrated from Ecuador and has been a United States citizen for over 28 years. Daniela was beautiful and did not partake in alcohol, drugs or partying. "She was a sweet, good girl who just wanted to help poor children," Gloria, her mother, told me on October 2nd. Gloria, as we call her, has not only lost her daughter but has been unable to prompt the United States to act in forcing Ecuador to investigate this heinous crime.
"Judge Lenin Mayorga informed me this week by phone that because my daughter is an American citizen that the United States must investigate... we [in the city of Ambato] cannot," Gloria told me on Saturday. "He also told me I have to pay $2600 for DNA tests which, he said, may already be decomposing, and that no investigation has been done because I was required to hire an attorney and fill out a police report in Ecuador." This was devastating and confusing news for Gloria, who had flown to Ecuador the night after her daughter was murdered to not only identify her mangled daughter's body but also to meet with the authorities in Ecuador and the United States Embassy to beg for an investigation into her daughter's murder. They all assured her that was happening.
Gloria saw the police and Judge Mayorga every day between July 11th and the 19th. She inquired as to the cost and requirements for them to find her daughter's attacker and the judge told her the Red Cross would pay the fees. In all her phone calls and visits no one ever told her to hire an attorney and file a police report. They said they were going to do everything they could to find her killer. Why the change of procedure? Is this a cover-up or conspiracy, or just a country with a less than decent judicial system? Gloria also had visited the American Embassy in Ecuador and was told they would stay on top of the police and judge to be sure a proper investigation was being performed. The judge informed Gloria last week that no one had contacted him from the embassy. In her conversations with the people from the American Embassy in Ecuador, they have told her their hands are tied and they have no legal jurisdiction with the police or judges.
Gloria also saw a report in the Ambato local paper that showed her daughter's body being removed from the crime scene along with a plastic bag containing a knife and a cell phone. The story claimed they were found at the crime scene. However, when Gloria asked the Judge about this evidence he said it was manufactured by the paper and attributed it to journalistic sensationalism. I find it very hard to believe that this is the case but without a proper inquiry, we will never know!
Another troubling fact: Daniela became reacquainted with a man in Ambato who the family had met a few times. She was reintroduced to this man by her cousin, Veronica. Daniela and this man became friends and they were frequently together with Veronica. He developed what seemed to be an obsession with her and Gloria said he asked to speak to her one night and told her on the phone, "Thank you. I have found the love of my life. It is your daughter." When Daniela refused to date him, he would follow her and show up at her house and other places he knew Daniela frequented. He called the house incessantly. Gloria told Daniela to keep the doors locked in the house but they never imagined this man would harm Daniela.
When Gloria asked the judge about this man they said he and his girlfriend both said they were out of town. However, there was no follow up or corroborating evidence. Gloria is not saying he is the one who killed her daughter but believes at the very least that he should be investigated.
Joseph Kendall, her employer, tried contacting Barbara Boxer, the State Department, President Obama via e-mail and Henry Waxman, to no avail. He told me he is appalled and angered by the lack of response and lack of interest by the media and the state officials. " She is an American citizen and no one will help," Kendall said. When Kendall contacted the local media he was shocked at their reaction. "One reporter who was trying to persuade his editor to investigate this story told me he was frustrated because they (his editors) are more interested in the celebrities that come into your salon and want to use that as an angle instead of the murder of this poor child! I am disgusted by their lack of interest." 
Unfortunately, this has been a common response for all of us. If she were a celebrity, we would run it. Whatever happened to humanity? I know I have spent almost every waking moment trying to find someone to help Gloria. Isn't that why we are all on this earth: to help each other in crisis? What has happened to America? Are our citizens really more interested in seeing what celebrity gets their hair cut at a salon than finding the killer of an innocent 26-year-old girl? Makes you think, doesn't it?
What can everyone do? Write to your congressman, senators, the media: anyone who will listen. Time is running out and every day matters. Gloria is returning to Ecuador on Sunday, October 10th and needs the United States to pressure Ecuador into investigating. Gloria wants justice for her daughter but also wants to prevent another mother from suffering the agony of identifying their daughter's bloody, tortured body. Click here to read an article on Daniela in the Beverly Hills Courier by a wonderful reporter who cares: Abbey Hood.
You can contact me by e-mail at: Julestwenty@aol.com.