U.S. College Student Electrocuted on Train Tracks in Mexico Was Murdered, Family Says

The family of an Amherst College student who died while on spring break in late March is speaking out for the first time, saying they believe their son was murdered. Andrew Dorogi, 21, was killed in Mexico City on his way home from Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. According to Mexican officials, Dorogi, who was found dead on railroad tracks near a train station in Mexico City, was electrocuted.

Carolyn Martin, president of Amherst College, notified students, faculty and staff of Dorogi’s death shortly after it was reported.

“The cause of Andrew’s death is still unknown and under investigation,” Martin’s statement said. “We know from his family that he did not die of suicide.”

Dorigo, a Cleveland native, was scheduled to graduate this month from Amherst, where he was a standout in football and hockey, friends and family members say.

According to a Boston Globe report, “Mexican prosecutors issued a statement about a man whose body had been found on train tracks at a subway station outside Mexico City” last month. “The man, whom prosecutors did not identify, had been electrocuted and suffered burns, according to the statement. Prosecutors declined to say whether the man was Dorogi, but said they had launched a manslaughter investigation.”

Family members told the Globe on Friday that they believe their son was murdered but declined to reveal further details about the ongoing investigation. U.S. State Department officials referred requests for a comment to Mexican authorities.

Dorigo’s grandfather, Joseph Dorogi, 86, told the Globe, “I don’t think the Mexican government is really doing that much.” He added, “I’d like to know what happened. The one thing I know is he’s gone and there’s nothing we can say or do that can change that. That’s the way his parents feel and assessing the blame doesn’t bring him back. He’s gone.”

There are growing concerns about ongoing violence in Mexican tourist areas. In Cancun last month there were 14 murders in 36 hours, the largest murder spree in the resort town’s history. In the Yucatan Peninsula, cruise lines canceled shore excursions after a ferry explosion in February. The State Department issued a warning to tourists about the dangers of travel to the area that month. A study of drug-related crime in Mexico found:

Over 116,000 people have been murdered under Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018), despite his campaign pledge that violence would decline dramatically within the first year of his administration. In fact, there were an average of 23,293 homicides per year during the first five years of Peña Nieto’s term, nearly 4,000 more per year than during Calderón’s first five years in office. As such, the annual average number of homicides under the Peña Nieto administration is now about 20% higher than during the Calderón administration, whose first two years saw much lower levels of homicide.

On May 7 the State Department issued a Level 2 advisory for Mexico, warning Americans to exercise “increased caution” while traveling in Mexico. “Violent crime, such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery, is widespread,” the advisory warned. “The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in many areas of Mexico as U.S. government employees are prohibited from travel to these areas.”

Follow me on Twitter @pbolyard