Disturbing New Details Emerge About Kempner High Senior Killed In Mexico

Disturbing new details are emerging about the possible double life of a Kempner High School student found dead near Monterrey, Mexico last weekend.

Those dark details include the 18-year-old senior working as an exotic dancer, her expressed desire to learn about transporting illegal aliens and even possible involvement in drug trafficking.

Mexican authorities said Elisabeth Mandala of Sugar Land was found dead inside a Dodge Dakota pickup truck along with the bodies of two Mexican nationals.

Police said Mandala, Dante Ruiz Siller and Angel Estrella Mondragon were beaten to death and then placed into the pickup. The truck, which had Texas license plates, was then intentionally run into the rear of a larger truck to make it appear as though the trio died in the accident.

Further investigation, however, determined the accident had been staged. Mexican Federal Judicial Police said a rock had been placed over the accelerator of the pickup, causing it to run into the back of the tractor-trailer truck on the Monclova highway. The three bodies had been dead at least 10 hours before the accident outside of Mina, a town of about 6,000 people near Monterrey in the state of Nuevo Leon.

Now as her classmates mourn Mandala’s death, disturbing details about her life are emerging.

According to family members, the same high school senior who liked teen heartthrob Justin Bieber and enjoyed horseback riding around her Plantation Stables home was, at the same time, working as an exotic dancer and saying she wanted to learn how to transport illegal aliens.

It may have been Mandala’s dark side that led to her rent a car and drive to Mexico April 27 without her mother’s permission, purportedly to learn more about smuggling illegal aliens. Mandala’s mother reported her missing Saturday, ultimately leading to the identification of her body.

Mexican authorities theorize Mandala may have gotten caught up in that country’s burgeoning drug trade. Drug traffickers frequently attempt to recruit bilingual teens to help smuggle drugs across the border.

Siller and Mondragon were described as a merchant and a cab driver, respectively, but Mexican authorities say both are suspected of having drug ties. Both men were from Mexico City, but had extensive connections in Monterrey, including some individuals police said were known to be involved in narcotics trafficking.

There is no word on what happened to the rental care Mandala rented to drive to Mexico.

Mexican authorities are continuing their investigation into the murders. The United States Consulate in Monterrey is monitoring the investigation.