A woman of Canadian origin was murdered on the night of Saturday, March 16th, when she was traveling through the state from Oaxaca and bound for Canada.
The homicide was recorded on the northeastern bypass of Querétaro, which is located in the municipality of El Marqués. The victim in the company of a man was assaulted by a group of subjects who threatened them when they were a few meters from the Chichimequillas toll booth, on the Mexico-Queretaro highway, in the aforementioned municipality.
The Canadian woman, who had gotten out of the truck along with her dogs, was stripped of her belongings and later received a gunshot wound to the face, causing her to die instantly.
The attackers shot the man in the arm, but he managed to survive and call for help once the attackers left the scene.
According to the complaint, which circulates on social networks, the woman – named Gabriele Schart – lived in the city of Zipolite, in Oaxaca, and worked in activities related to the international film industry.
The victim was on a road trip back home to her country, Canada: “Her goal was to return to London, Ontario, in about a week. They were going very well and had traveled half of Mexico before the tragedy,” reads a fundraiser held by Michael Schart, the deceased’s eldest son.
Personnel from Federal Roads and Bridges (Capufe) and the National Guard from the roads division came to help those affected, proceeding to preserve the scene that had to be processed by agents from the directorate of expert services.
The investigation of the events was assumed by the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Querétaro, which is in charge of handling the process according to the law since it involves a foreign woman.
For its part, the Canadian government placed an alert for its citizens who want to travel to Mexico due to security problems.
“Crime levels, particularly violent crime, are highly frequent throughout Mexico. Arrest and detention rates are low and do not deter criminal activity,” Canadian authorities warned in a statement.
Gabriele’s three dogs are missing
On social networks, friends and family of Gabriele Schart have asked for the support of the residents of Querétaro to locate the woman’s pets, which ran away after the gunshots. Two of the dogs are Labrador mixed breeds and go by the names “Lucky” and “Rosa,” as well as a mixed-breed dog named “Zafira.”
Source: El Heraldo de Mexico
