Horror as girl, 10, dies after being hanged from a tree by her brother, 12, during petty row
Investigators believe she was hanged after an argument involving a treehouse, it was claimed
A TEN-YEAR-old girl has died after her 12-year-old brother hanged her from a tree after a petty row.
Paola Cortines suffered asphyxia after being left dangling from the tree with an electric cable tied round her neck.
The shocking crime happened in the indigenous community of El Terrero in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua.
Paola’s brother is said to have been helped by a 14-year-old female friend, although she told a youth court judge she had only helped to lower Paola's body.
It is thought they only wanted to scare her but left her without air for too long.
Prosecutors confirmed the shocking incident yesterday when they revealed Paola’s brother and the female friend had been questioned.
related stories
A prosecution source told a local paper before the 14-year-old's court appearance: "(The brother) and (his friend) hanged their victim and brought her down from the tree by cutting the cable.
"When they realised she wasn’t responding they tried to take her body into a nearby house but were intercepted and tried to flee before being caught."
Local reports said prosecutors were still trying to establish the motive, although they were said to focusing on the theory the victim destroyed a tree house her brother had been building while their parents were working in a nearby apple orchard.
The younger boy is set to escape prosecution because of his age but has already been ordered to spend time in a rehabilitation centre where he will receive therapy.
His older friend appeared at a youth court on Sunday and insisted she had only helped him to lower his sister’s body down from the tree.
She could face up to three years in prison if found guilty of Paola’s death.
Today shocking new details emerged of the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Paola’s parents Manuel Cortines Espina, 39, and Gloria Moreno Diaz, 37, had left the brother in charge of his younger siblings, four girls and a boy aged 2 to 10, while they were out working.
Paola’s sister, aged just eight, managed to drag her body into her bedroom before looking for help.
Unconfirmed local reports said authorities believed her brother and his friend may have been high on drugs at the time after smoking cannabis.
Paola’s parents are also expected to face punishment for leaving their children alone.
In May last year, a six-year-old child was brutally killed by five other youngsters in Mexico during a macabre kidnap game.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368.