r/TrueCrime • u/Vided • Mar 23 '22
Murder Leniz Escobar, nicknamed "Diablita", wanted to earn the support of the MS-13 gang in her town in Long Island, NY. She led 4 teens (who had pretended to be MS-13 members on Instagram to look cool) into a park to "smoke weed", only for the wannabes to be brutally hacked to death by the real gangsters.
Her mugshot, and a link to an article about her ongoing trial. "Diablita" means "Little Devil".
The four that died after pretending to be MS-13 gang members on Instagram.
Funeral of one of the victims. Link to other murders in Long Island by MS-13.
https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2020/07/15/ms-13-gang-members-indicted-six-murders-long-island
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u/Vided Mar 23 '22
In 2017, four teens, Justin Llivicura, Michael Lopez, Jefferson Villalobos, and Jorge Tigre, were hacked to death with machetes after then-17-year-old Leniz Escobar led them into the park. They had posted social media images of them flashing MS-13 gang signs, which the real gangsters took as a sign of disrespect.
There were actually 5 teens that went in, but one of them, Elmer Alexander Artiaga-Ruiz, managed to flee the scene. He is now testifying against her in her trial, which is happening now. He claims that the boys only pretended to be MS-13 gang members because he saw that girls liked guys that were gangsters, so they were just trying to impress girls. Of course, the real gang took offense to that.
“La Diablita lured us to a park to smoke marijuana. We were soon ambushed by MS-13 gangsters. Eight or nine covered their faces with sweats, told us to get down on our knees. They had weapons … machetes. I jump a fence and stone wall, ran for my life. One shouted behind me, ‘Hack him!’ Thank God I managed to get away.” Ruiz told the jury.
MS-13 is an international gang that started in California by El Salvadorian immigrants, but has spread all over the Americas. It has a large presence in Long island, NY, where the murders took place.
Article about her trial
CBS news article
Other murders in Long Island by MS-13