Another Body Found In Violent Mexican Border City

Authorities said yesterday they had found the bruised and partially clad body of a young woman on a street in this violent border city where a string of rape-murders already has claimed at least 65 women.

The woman was believed to be between 17 and 20 years old, police told the government news agency Notimex.

A woman passing through the neighborhood on Monday night discovered the body lying in an intersection. The victim was dressed in pants and a bra, with no blouse, socks or shoes. Bruise marks were visible on her head and investigators believe her skull was fractured, Notimex reported.

Authorities are investigating whether the victim was sexually assaulted before she was killed.

Just last week, police arrested two city bus drivers in connection with the killing of eight women whose bodies were found earlier this month in Ciudad Juarez, a tough border city of 1.3 million across from El Paso, Texas.

Between 1993 and 1999, police found at least 57 bodies in the desert around Ciudad Juarez.

Copyright 2001 The Associated Press