Prosecutor Appeals Acquittal in Canadian Tourist Femicide

The case of the femicide of Canadian national Kiara N., who was killed in March 2023 at a hotel north of Playa del Carmen, is currently in the appeals stage. The Quintana Roo State Prosecutor’s Office is seeking to overturn an acquittal in favor of the main suspect.

Aroshi Lugo Arana, the Southern Zone Prosecutor for the Quintana Roo State Prosecutor’s Office, reported that last year an appeal was admitted against the acquittal ruling that benefited Ryan N., the victim’s ex-partner and also a Canadian national. According to testimonies, Ryan is held responsible for Kiara’s death.

Lugo Arana stated that they have evidence that fully implicates Ryan in the death, which was not sufficiently considered by the Trial Court in Playa del Carmen, which determined Ryan’s innocence.

“On September 11, 2024, an acquittal ruling was issued following the trial… It is very important to establish here that all the information, all the evidence gathered by the State Prosecutor’s Office during that trial process, we are confident and consider that it clearly and precisely established, beyond any reasonable doubt, the existence of the act and the responsibility of the defendant Ryan N.,” Lugo Arana stated.

As reported by Novedades Quintana Roo, in March 2023, both young people had been in Playa del Carmen for two days on a vacation. They were staying at a well-known Riviera Maya hotel located north of the city, between Xcalacoco and Punta Beté.

According to testimonies, Ryan was detained near the victim’s lifeless body, in a criminal situation that pointed to an evident femicide likely perpetrated by this person, which received media coverage in Canada.

Ryan was immediately detained and charged with the crime of femicide. Following his acquittal, the case is now before one of the Specialized Criminal Chambers in Cancún, which will determine this individual’s guilt.

If they rule against Ryan, he will still have an opportunity to defend himself through a direct amparo appeal as a final and unappealable instance.