Mass Grave Unearthed In Palomas: Authorities Identify Two Men From Deming

A week after finding a mass grave in Palomas, Chihuahua, Mexican authorities are beginning to identify the victims ? two of which they said are from Deming, New Mexico.

Wednesday, Esther Renteria went to the morgue in Juarez to see what Mexican authorities told her was her son?s body, she said. Call it maternal instinct, faith, maybe a little denial Esther said she believes the body is not her son.

“He say, ?Mom, somebody pulled me out here in Palomas,? and I say, ?Ok son,? and he say, ?Ok mom I love you, I call you later,?? Esther said.

That is the last conversation Esther said she remembered having with her youngest son, 27-year-old Lorenzo, who was on his way to visit his wife and baby boy in Ascension, Chihuahua on October 22nd.

Clutching her only photograph of her son, Esther continues to patiently wait for his call nearly six weeks after hearing his last words.

“I have faith in God, and you know God is everything for me,” Esther said.

It is a strong sense of faith that has family convinced, without DNA evidence, Mexican authorities have mistaken Lorenzo for someone else.

“That’s what keeps us going right now is our faith, our faith that, hey you know what maybe it’s not him, so that’s what we’re praying for right now” Isabel Bejarano, Lorenzo?s cousin, said.

As reported on ABC-7, nearly 20-people were unearthed in a mass grave near Palomas, Chihuahua. Lorenzo?s passport and New Mexico driver?s license were among decayed remains.

But Esther said she believes the body she saw at the Juarez morgue was not her son.

“The face is terrible,? Esther said. ?It’s like burned and he not have ears and it’s terrible?somebody took all his papers and put it in that body. I think it’s not his body.”

The family said the past few weeks have been difficult, some days they just cry, and others they just sit and pray.

“We’re hoping it’s not him, we have our fingers crossed and I mean honestly that’s all I can say right now until the facts are there,? Bejarano said.

Lorenzo lived and worked for a refrigerated air company in Deming, Esther said. He had been traveling back and fourth to Mexico on weekends for the past 2-years, and was in the process of obtaining residency papers for his wife to legally move to the United States. “I feel sad, I feel very, very sad but I have faith in God,” Esther said.

The family is demanding a DNA test, and if results do identify the body as Lorenzo?s, he will be transported back to New Mexico for an official autopsy, Esther said.