HOUSTON – The mother of an alleged victim of the MS-13 street gang said she wants justice for her daughter.
Nayeli Guzman, 14, would have been 15 on Aug. 1, if she’d lived. She was a freshman at Wisdom High School, who her mother said, liked clothes, music and art. Her drawings still decorate her mother’s home in southwest Houston.
She was a typical teenager with a rebellious streak, her mother said. She wanted to be independent, quit school and get a job. She’d run away several times, the last time being May 5. Her mother reported to police that she was missing.
“She always came back,” her mother said Wednesday, fighting back tears. “One way or another, she always came back. I still can’t believe that something like this could happen to her.”
Nayeli’s friends included members of MS-13. Her mother said Nayeli first came into contact with the gang two years ago through a neighbor, 18-year-old Carlos Enriquez-Torres, a member of the gang, according to police.
There was no word from Nayeli for three months after she disappeared in May. Then, on Aug. 30, police found her body in a shallow grave in the 5700 block of West Fuqua Street. She had been murdered by MS-13, they said. The motive is still not clear.
“I never thought that she would end up like this,” her mother said. “She’s just a girl. I didn't have the opportunity to see her and wish her a happy birthday. She was just 15. It’s very hard on me and my family. It’s something that I still cannot deal with -- her loss.”
Enriquez-Torrez is currently in jail charged with killing a fellow gang member on June 6. He hasn't been charged with Nayeli’s murder, but police said charges in that case will be coming soon against several MS-13 members who are also being held on other charges.
“Yes, I want justice. This way they will not be able to do this to other girls," Nayeli's mother said.