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Saturday, October 8, 2016

Former cop charged in murder of Canadian photographer

Posted by DD Borderland Beat

A suspect in the murder of Canadian photographer, Barbara McClatchie, was ordered by a Court in Yucatan yesterday to remain in custody while the investigation continues into her death. 

Mcclatchie's body was found beside the highway linking Merida and Cancun, less than 4 kilometers from Merida where she resided.  

McClatchie flew from Vancouver to Mexico on Thursday Sept. 29, just one day before she was discovered at the side of the road.  She was returning from a trip to her former home in Vancouver where she had visited with friends and family.  

Owner, Deanna Geisheimer, of the Art Works Gallery in downtown Vancouver where some of McClatchie's work is exhibited told Huffington Post that her friend Barbara had flown from Vancouver to Mexico on Thursday, just one day before she was discovered at the side of the road.

“She flew down Thursday and called her housekeeper that she was on her way and never arrived."

Her body was found the next day, Friday Sept. 30,  by a farmer traveling down the highway.  

Juan Carlos López Martínez, an ex-state police officer, was arrested Sunday, Oct. 2, and faces a charge of aggravated homicide.  .López Martínez was working for the ADO bus line in Cancún September 29 when McClatchie arranged to have him drive her to her home in Mérida.

Yesterday's hearing in Yucatán.
Mexico News Daily that at the hearing yesterday, Oct.7, the judge found there was sufficient evidence to support the arrest warrant and charges against Lopez Martinez.  At the hearing his attorney argued that the search of his client's home was illegal.  It is believed that  that the search yielded a camera belonging to McClatchie and her identification.  From the appearance of the body the police believe she was beaten around the face and body and strangled to death with the strap of her camera.


Canadian News Video on next page






Barbara McClatchie Andrews, a one-time photojournalist who had turned to abstract photography in recent years.  Her friend, Kit Grauer of Tsawwassen said McClatchie Andrews was a seasoned traveller who loved life. She spoke three languages, including Spanish, and was a longtime photographer for National Geographic.

”She travelled all over the world,” said Grauer. “She is not someone who would do anything stupid.”

A former teacher at South Delta Secondary, McClatchie Andrews had moved to Mexico in 2005, where she restored a house and set up a non-profit art gallery in Merida, the capital of Yucatan state.

 “She was a wonderfully creative photographer who lived life to the fullest,” said Grauer.

At Art Works Gallery in downtown Vancouver, one of McClatchie Andrews’s abstract pictures is for sale for $2,800.   Geisheimer said that besides being a prolific artist, McClatchie Andrews also helped new artists in Mexico get established.

Even well into retirement age, Geisheimer said McClatchie Andrews was passionate in promoting new artists from Mexico.   Geisheiner said McClatchie Andrews had a special way of looking at the world, able to see beauty in the mundane.

'Fell in love' with community in Merida

McClatchie Andrews, 74, who lived in Merida  was the director of the Galeria Inlakech,  a non-profit gallery which she founded showcasing new artists.


“Her non-profit gallery was set up to encourage new artists,” she said. “She had really connected with the artistic and design community down there.”

“It is so tragic,” she said, “She was a lovely person. She was ageless in attitude, incredibly gifted and kind beyond measure, and had the most wonderful sense of humor.”

The Daily Mail reported that the respected photographer loved Mexico and was a fierce defender of the country which is still gripped by a drugs war.

She would 'rail against the media' when it highlighted the dangers of the country, despite the fact that dozens of journalists have been murdered in Mexico in recent years.

Vancouver artist Rodney Clark, who had seen McClatchie Andrews recently, said that she seemed much younger that her years, and was still a vibrant and outgoing individual.

'She was ageless in attitude, incredibly gifted, wickedly intelligent, kind beyond measure and had the most wonderful sense of humor. We could talk for hours at a time. I feel so blessed to have seen her such a short time ago. A great loss'.  

McClatchie Andrews, who was trilingual, had studied English and French literature at the University of British Columbia, and went on to pursue post-graduate studies at Montreal’s Concordia University and the University of Arizona.

She was also a former teacher at South Delta Secondary in British Colombia, Canada. According to the photographer's website, she had homes in both Vancouver and Merida.

Locals from the small town of Merida, which has typically avoided some of the worst of Mexico's violence, were shocked by the news.   Ironically the Best place to live in Mexico, for the second year in a row, is Mérida, capital city of the state of Yucatán, according to the 10th annual most-livable-cities survey by the polling firm Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica (GCE).

Her friend, Kit Grauer of Tsawwassen said McClatchie Andrews’s son, Julian Andrews, and brother, Sam McClatchie, who both live in the U.S., only found out about her death through Facebook and a newspaper reporter.

Friends and family of McClatchie gathered Wednesday at her Mérida gallery where her brother, Samuel McClatchie, said his sister lost her life for $500. When someone attempted to rob her, he said, she fought to keep her belongings.

He lamented that she had forgotten the rules of a traveler: don’t travel alone if you’re a senior, don’t travel at night, avoid remote routes and if you’re attacked don’t fight back.

Artist friend Martine Janser wrote, partially in Spanish, on Facebook: 'Barbara McClatchie Andrews, I certainly enjoyed your company....Will miss you. Rest in peace, dear friend.' 







40 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Are you and 10:04 related? Same answer I gave him.
      If you read the 2nd page you would have seen what her brother said;
      Friends and family of McClatchie gathered Wednesday at her Mérida gallery where her brother, Samuel McClatchie, said his sister lost her life for $500. When someone attempted to rob her, he said, she fought to keep her belongings.

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  2. Ok so....how exactly did she die? A bullet a knife or a beat down....she was old so I figure she got robed...

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    1. @10:04. If you read the story it said ;
      "From the appearance of the body the police believe she was beaten around the face and body and strangled to death with the strap of her camera."

      If you read the 2nd page you would have seen what her brother said;
      Friends and family of McClatchie gathered Wednesday at her Mérida gallery where her brother, Samuel McClatchie, said his sister lost her life for $500. When someone attempted to rob her, he said, she fought to keep her belongings.

      Delete
    2. ja ja ja. Those two statements answered your both of your questions.

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    3. Try reading the article next time.

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    4. 10:02 and 10:04 is the same pendejo, I know his ass always fires consecutive hoghwash.

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  3. This was all over the news here last week, it gave me an eerie feeling as I have lived in Merida in the past and travelled that highway from Cancun. Let this be a warning to those travelling through Mexico and Latin America, don't travel alone especially as a woman and don't fight back, no camera is worth your life. This was truly senseless and my heart goes out to her family and friends. Thanks for the report DD, I came back here hoping to get a perspective on this from within Mexico and you delivered.

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  4. The camera was her life, this is who this woman was,the camera was her whole life...... How does this not surprise me, that it was an ex-cop. How sad, what happened to Mexico?

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    1. 5:57 this is one ex-cop accused of this one murder, "mexico" is not being accused of the crime or being victimized all over again on this report, pendejo or pendeja, both!.
      --What happened to mexico, is the result of 200+ friendship with the US, if you are trying to talk about "other things"

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  5. The Bus driver/ex-cop killed her over camera? This is wrong on so many levels. I have noticed lately, working in construction in Silicon Valley, the pure hatred against north american caucasians. Even though the undocumented worker makes more money and has taken over the industry.

    Sad.

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    1. Exactly! An ex cop kills a 74 year old woman over a camera and/or 500 dollars. He is one stellar example of mankind at its' worst. It takes cojones to rob and kill a defenseless elderly person.

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    2. i dont understand why an undocumented worker would make more money than you unless you're not good at your job. I have never felt hatred from anyone and I dont feel like they're taking over and what do your opinions have to do with a crime that happened in another country?

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    3. Yeah, they are clearly all taking over. They live 10-15 people to a 2 room house and can't call the police for any dispute at all. Employers sometimes randomly decide not to pay them, and they have no recourse. They live in a country hundreds or thousands of miles away from their families, working for years just so they can send money back home to support their families. Can't see their families regularly because that means taking the risk of crossing back in again and risking death. Now that's living a great life, for certain. Seriously?

      I don't know how I feel about undocumented immigrants, as I realize there are only so many jobs and resources for the people that were born here, but of this I am certain: they don't love their families any less than I love mine.

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    4. It wrong on so many levels. That you're not educated enough to know that Mexico is in North America and that Mexicans ARE Caucasian. Also it is very sad that you have so much hatred that you look to blame others for succeeding even though they have the disadvantage of not having documents - illegal aliens, yet work hard and excel at their jobs.

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    5. Mexicans are Caucasian? You sure are confused.

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    6. I guess my hatred really stems from working in Mexico 20 years ago. Undocumented Mexicans are very racist to Caucasians. If a Latino is in charge of a construction job most times you have to pay piso here in the U.S. Call me uneducated, I am just telling it like it is.

      @8:13 Most Latino labor in the U.S. are descendant Indigenous from Latin America.

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    7. Nothing against Mexicanos, but when we immigrated legally. We adapted to the American way of life. Now a days my Paisano come and live as if they are in tepic. Sorry but I didn't come here to live in a third world country "banana republic"

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    8. If your job is threatened by people with eighth grade education or less, you really need to take a hard look at yourself and your future.

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    9. @ 7:32
      Millions of voters are taking a hard look at this situation and their future. Unfortunately, they will be voting for Trump.

      Delete
    10. Grunt, we are not all the same, cut with a cookie cutter, or supposed to follow somebody's steps, if you have left the rancho behind, good for you, but others come to the US to make their own rodeo...

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  6. As a Canadian all I can say is I am sickened this happened to a lady who was in her 74th year. May peace be with her and the rest of the innocent Mexicans who deal with this stuff everyday . Bring that cop to Toronto and leave him at Jane and Finch Avenue and they ll eat his bones for dinner coward.

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    1. Jane and Finch would have him running for his life.

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  7. She had a large roll of bills. I assume he saw them when he was hired by her at the airport. There were others traveling with her at first. He was to take her on to Merida. She was killed for the money. I am thinking she was suffocated also as it was said she had a plastic bag over her head and her hands were bound behind her back. An ex-cop? This story just got worse than it already was.

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  8. OK, and there is 100,000 Mexicans dead and nobody cares. A few Canadians get killed and it's all over the news smh

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    1. 2:04PM We care about the dead/missing Mexicans, too. You're right, though, about the disproportionate amount of coverage at times. I was stunned at the media coverage of Alan Pulido. What about all of the mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and cousins in Mexico that are missing or killed each year but not famous?

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    2. 6:21 stop mourning the dead, charge somebody for their murders, the are the military zone commanders, the federal and state police, the municipales, the politicians and the judges, somebody knows all the crimes done while they have been in power.
      Charge, convict, and fire them, what is that crap about "resign epn"?

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    3. Not Canada's fault it's like that. Mexico's worthless, submissive government is to blame. Canada is a country that actually functions like it is suposed to. Its government takes it as a sacred vow to try and look after its citizens. That also means their journalists can pursue the story and they don't risk getting levantado. There have been very famous cases in Mexico but it is hard to remain focused on an individual when it's a sea of bodies. Does anybody even remember the case of Don Alejo? In 100 years he should have some primary schools named after him.

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  9. !0:16: Did you see the photo above? She is lying on the side of the road. Her hands are not tied. There is no bag over her head. Let's not be embellishing the story.

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  10. Sadly this lady died as a result of her believing the lie she had told herself and anyone else regarding the violence that exists in Mexico. She would "rail against the media" if they dared to report about the goings on in Mexico. This alternate reality that she created and lived in led her to let her guard down which ultimately led to her death. Let this be a lesson to all...creating your own narrative does not change reality.

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  11. @ 3:02
    "I have never felt hatred from anyone and I dont feel like they're taking over and what do your opinions have to do with a crime that happened in another country?"

    Do you speak Spanish and have you lived in Mexico for an extended amount of time? Well, I have for twenty years.
    The attitude has changed towards foreigners in Mexico, and frankly it is not safe anymore.

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    Replies
    1. Change is constant. Ghandi said "we must be the change we want to see in the world"

      Delete
  12. @ 3:02, why do you believe the attitude in Mexico has changed towards foreigners. Thank you for your reply.

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  13. @8:42 P.M. I was repeating what the first newspaper article I saw about this said, regarding her hands being bound, and the plastic bag. Maybe that was incorrect. Here is the link.

    http://www.theyucatantimes.com/2016/10/canadian-photographers-driver-arrested-for-her-murder/

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  14. Sorry, please disregard the last link concerning the photographers hands and head. That was the wrong one.

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  15. Here's is something 2 consider: Do we own our possessions or do our possessions own us? I read that somewhere once. Sometimes it's best 2 lose our belongings 4 they can easliy be replaced. - El Sol Perdido

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    1. Sol! You can have my calzones.
      Atentamente: El Chapo

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  16. This is what happens when the Mexico cheerleaders start to believe their own bullshit about how safe Mexico is.

    ReplyDelete

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