Indiana Mother’s Body Found in Mexico, Partner Detained

The body of a pregnant Indiana woman who had been missing for months was discovered in a Mexican village this week, and the father of her seven children has been detained as a suspect in her killing. Makala Pendley, 30, of Indianapolis, was found nude in a ditch in the municipality of Zinacantán in the state of Chiapas, according to local authorities.

Chiapas State Prosecutor Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca announced the discovery in a briefing on Monday, June 9. He stated Pendley had been dead for eight to 12 hours and that her death was caused by traumatic brain injury from blunt force trauma. The prosecutor said a suspect identified as Pendley's partner had been detained. In a subsequent briefing, he identified the detained man as Joseph Jude Butler Jr., the father of Pendley's children, and said authorities would seek a maximum sentence of 100 years for the crime of femicide.

Pendley's family confirmed the details of her death, stating she had been raped and beaten. "It just still does not feel freaking real," her sister, Maurica Lambert, said. "It just doesn't feel real at all."

Pendley and her seven children, ranging in age from one to 12 years old, were reported missing to...