‘Slain student brutally tortured’:

A classmate of 43 college students who disappeared in 2014 had been tortured before his body was found the day after the others went missing, Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission said Monday.

A new autopsy determined 22-yearold Julio Cesar Mondragon suffered 64 fractures in 40 bones, mostly in his skull, face and spine, said Jose Trinidad Larrieta, who has led the commission’s investigation in the case.

But Larrieta added that Mondragon’s face was not skinned by his captors as some people had alleged, saying animals were responsible. The student died prior to that of brain injuries, he said.

The team of Argentine forensic experts who participated in the second autopsy at the family’s request had similar findings in terms of the extent of the injuries and cause of death. But in a statement later Monday, the group said it believed that in addition to the work of animals on Mondragon’s face, they detected signs of cutting. However, it added, having conducted the second autopsy more than a year later the conditions did not allow a more detailed determination.

The commission investigator called for federal prosecutors to investigate all suspects involved for torture. Up to this point Mondragon’s case has remained in the hands of a local court apart from the disappearances of his 43 classmates, but torture is a federal charge so the commission expressed confidence that federal prosecutors would take it up. (AP)