Six months ago, police said they were sure the chemist they had jailed on a rape charge was a serial killer who had murdered at least four of the nine young women found stabbed or strangled in this border city last year.
Then they found six more bodies. And now residents of this crime-hardened city of 1.2 million across from El Paso, Texas, have to face the horrifying truth: One or more serial killers likely remain on the loose."I read the newspaper every day and often see reports of another girl found murdered," said 18-year-old Haydee Armendariz. "I don't go out alone, and none of my friends do either. We talk about the murders all the time, but it seems the police aren't able to do anything to arrest this killer or killers."
Last week, a Chihuahua state judge ruled that there was not enough evidence to charge the key suspect, 49-year-old Sharif Sharif, with murder.
Although state prosecutors have appealed the ruling, Sharif said in a jail interview that he is "100 percent innocent" and expects to be released within the next two weeks. Even the rape case against him began falling apart when his alleged victim failed to appear in court.
Sharif, an Egyptian who immigrated to the United States 21 years ago, moved to Juarez from Midland, Texas, in May 1994 to help set up a Mexican border plant for a U.S. company.
Most citizens of Juarez are somewhat jaded to routine newspaper accounts of killings by rival drug lords or dueling gang members. Last year, the city had a record 295 murders, second in the nation to Mexico City in murders per capita.
But the news of serial killings last year led to near mass hysteria. Before Sharif's arrest, many parents wouldn't let their children go out alone or after dark. Teenage girls cut their hair and dressed in baggy clothes to be less attractive to the mysterious killer.
Juarez's busy nightclubs and restaurants reported a drop in business.
The latest victims, murdered in the past three weeks, were discovered in the hilly northwest neighborhood of Anapra - the opposite side of town from where the previous murder victims were found.
Still, there are many similarities between the two groups of slayings.
The six most recent cases involve girls, ages 15 to 17, who closely match the physical description of the nine earlier victims. All 15 victims were in their teens or early 20s, slim and petite, almost always with long, dark hair. Most of the bodies were semi-nude. At least several of the victims had been raped, though some bodies were so badly decomposed that it was impossible to tell.
In what might be a "signature" of the killer, the shoes of at least one of the recent victims were placed neatly beside her body, similar to that of four victims last year. Also, the left breast of at least one was mutilated, similar to some of the earlier cases.
Mexican investigators say they are unsure if a copycat killer or possible gang is responsible for the second wave of murders. But they say they remain convinced that Sharif killed at least four of the nine women found last year.