Man arrested in the violent attack on Ottawa woman in Mexico

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Family hopes for justice after woman choked, beaten at Tulum resort

Mexican authorities released this image of the man they identified as Ricardo N. He’s charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault in connection with an attack on an Ottawa woman on Nov. 11. (Attorney General of the State of Quintana Roo)

The brother of an Ottawa woman who was beaten and choked while vacationing at a resort in Mexico says he is hopeful justice will be served now that a man is under arrest in connection with the attack. 

Mexican authorities say a man they call “Ricardo N.” is charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault on 29-year-old Lexie York.  

Ricardo N. is currently in pre-trial detention, Quintana Roo prosecutor Manuel Pat Guerrera told CBC News in a Spanish language interview.

York was attacked after answering the door of her Grand Bahia Principe hotel room in Tulum, Mexico, in the early morning hours of Nov. 11.

The man at the door was someone she spoke to hours earlier, she said. He proceeded to beat her to the point she temporarily lost consciousness and her eyesight.

Since the attack, York has undergone two surgeries to her face and eye area.

York’s brother, Mathew York, said the family is eager to see justice served.

“I think she wants this process to happen,” Mathew said Thursday. “I hope that the judicial process isn’t too crazy and things work out.”

Lexie York met her alleged assailant in what seemed like a friendly encounter earlier that day. 

Mathew has been at his sister’s side in Mexico since the attack.

He said Canadian consular officials told the family that when his sister regained consciousness and called for help, the attacker was in the room unconscious.

The Canadian consulate officials also told the family Ricardo N. is from Mexico City and works as either a chauffeur or a truck driver, said Mathew. 

Aside from that, the family doesn’t know much about him, he said.

“No one’s really given us any kind of motive much of a story about why this happened,” he said.

“We know absolutely nothing about the police investigation, what they’ve looked at, what their thoughts and theories are. Nothing has been explained to us.”

Canadian consular officials warned the family they may not get those answers until after the judicial process is complete, he said.

Mathew said his sister is planning to speak with Mexican prosecutors in a couple days. He is confident his sister’s vision is now good enough to pick out her attacker in a photo.

“My sister had seen him previously so she’d be able to identify him,” he said. She still has blurry vision in one eye and double vision in the other.

Mathew said the Cancun hospital staff and facilities have been very good. He hopes his sister will be well enough to fly home by the end of November.

Source: cbc.ca, sipse, noticiero caribe

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