In 2010, Paulette vanished from her family’s apartment in Huixquilucan, Mexico, sparking a desperate nine-day search that gripped the nation. When her body was finally found, the discovery shocked everyone — she had been in her own bed the entire time.
The disappearance
On March 21, 2010, Paulette returned home from a weekend trip with her father and sister. That night, her mother, Lizette Farah, tucked her into bed as usual. But the next morning, Paulette was missing. The nanny raised the alarm after finding her bed empty.
There were no signs of forced entry or struggle. The doors and windows were locked, and security footage revealed nothing suspicious. Because Paulette had both mobility and speech impairments, it seemed impossible that she could have wandered away on her own.
Authorities launched a massive search involving police, volunteers, and helicopters. Posters flooded the streets, and a viral campaign spread across social media. Both parents appeared on television pleading for her safe return. Lizette even financed her own media campaign with flyers and ads.
Rising suspicion
As the days passed with no progress, inconsistencies in the parents’ testimonies drew attention. A week later, authorities placed Paulette’s parents and two nannies under restriction orders while they were questioned for hours.
Investigators soon returned to the apartment to reconstruct the night of her disappearance — and what they found would leave the entire country in disbelief.
Found in her own bed
Nine days after Paulette went missing, her body was discovered wedged between the mattress and the bed frame in her own room — the same bed where her mother had given TV interviews during the search.
Initial reports suggested possible foul play, but Attorney General Alberto Bazbaz quickly ruled the death accidental, citing “mechanical asphyxia” from suffocation and chest compression.
Autopsy and findings
The autopsy revealed that Paulette often slept with an orthopedic cloth over her mouth. Her body had not been moved after death, and she had eaten about five hours before she died. Minor bruises were found, but there were no signs of abuse or drugs in her system. Authorities concluded she had accidentally slipped into the narrow gap at the foot of her bed and suffocated — an explanation many found hard to believe.
Despite extensive searches by police, family, and volunteers, her body went unnoticed for nine days. Investigators later admitted they had focused entirely on areas outside the home.
Controversy and public doubt
Public skepticism deepened when a recording surfaced of Lizette’s mother allegedly instructing her daughter not to reveal certain information “or they’ll blame us.” Farah later admitted the conversation happened but said it was taken out of context.
The official ruling remained accidental death, but many — including Paulette’s nannies — openly doubted it. They insisted the bed had been checked multiple times, claiming it was impossible the child’s body had been there the whole time without being seen.
Political figures joined the criticism. Opposition leader Jesús Ortega accused the authorities of mishandling the case and asked, “Who are they trying to protect?”
Paulette was buried on April 6, 2010, at Mexico City’s Panteón Francés de San Joaquín. In 2017, her remains were exhumed and cremated, as officials declared they were no longer needed for investigation — though questions about what truly happened to her remain unanswered to this day.