Remains found of missing Salvadoran mom

Maryland authorities identified the remains of a Salvadoran immigrant whose husband killed himself and their four children one year ago. DNA tests confirmed that the bones found near a highway in late February were those of 25-year-old Deysi M. Benitez.

A police spokesman said that “all indications are that this was domestic homicide.” According to a 2007 article, spousal abuse may have been involved in this unfortunate ordeal:

In a telephone interview with The Associated Press...Angela Benitez...said her sister and Pedro Rodriguez, 28, were having problems in their marriage and that he beat her at least once, last December.

"I didn't see it, but she called me and told me that he had left her face a complete mess, that it was a miracle he didn't kill her," Angela Benitez said. Deysi asked for a separation "but he told her he wouldn't allow it."

The last time Angela spoke with Deysi, however, she "was talking very calmly."

Image- USA TODAY (2007 image of “Pedro Rodriguez, left, grandfather of Vanessa Rodriguez waits next to her coffin.”)

Sources- International Herald Tribune, Baltimore Sun, The Latin Americanist