A 24-year-old young mother identified as Melissa Rivero was raped and murdered in the municipality of Limonar, in Matanzas.
In addition to sexually abusing Melissa, her assailant—who was not her ex-partner but was known to her—also stole her belongings.
The officialist profile on social media "With Everyone, the Victory" reported on the case in recent hours and indicated that the alleged killer of the young woman has already been captured by the authorities.
The femicide suspect is named Noslan Chapell Drake.
“The lifeless body of the 24-year-old girl was found among the brush along the road known as La Torre in the Fructuoso Rodríguez People’s Council, which led to a thorough investigation that resulted in the resolution of the case in a short time,” reported the referenced profile.
"The killer, showing a blatant lack of compassion and respect for life, after causing her death and abusing her, stole the belongings she had and sold them," added the official source.
"With everyone, victory" concluded by indicating that the authorities are working to ensure that Noslan Chapell "responds with all the rigor of the law."
Although the official source did not identify the victim by name, friends, family, and close sources have confirmed that her name was Melissa Rivero and that she was the mother of a young boy, about three years old.
According to unofficial reports circulating on Facebook regarding the incident, the young woman was on her way to work by bicycle when she was raped and drowned by the attacker.
His body was reportedly found on the bank of a stream near his home, in the area of the "La Esperanza" Farm.
Noslan Chapell is from the rural town of Limones, in the municipality of Colón, and is known as "Manicato" or "Maní."
According to a report on Facebook from a user familiar with the case, the killer was a friend of Melissa's ex-partner, "he would visit her house" and even participated in the search for the young woman.
"Still so cynical that he spent all the time looking for her among other people," wrote Belkis González.
"His fingerprints were also found at the crime scene, which had been freshly cleaned just a few days prior, so it was clearly premeditated," the source concluded.
As of the publication of this note, feminist platforms have not addressed the case.
In 2024, 76 women were victims of femicide in Cuba, at the hands of their partners, ex-partners, or other individuals, as reported by the island's regime in a recent official report on extreme gender violence against women.
The Cuba Observatory on Gender Equality (OCIG), an entity affiliated with the Cuban government, made public the figure referring to the number of women aged 15 and older who have been "victims of intentional homicide (murder)" for gender-related reasons, without mentioning the term femicide at any point.
The figure is much higher than the underreporting by independent feminist platforms Observatorio de Género de Alas Tensas and Yo Sí Te Creo en Cuba, which documented 56 femicides last year, according to the annual report published by OGAT.
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