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 News from Around the Americas | January 2007 
Family Wants Answers in Son's Mexico Death
 Tracy Huffman - Toronto Star
| | Adam DePrisco’s mother, Carm, grieves while Adam’s brother Tony, 24, gets comforted by his cousin Luisa Pannozzi at their home in Woodbridge. (Rick Eglinton/Toronto Star) |
Friend claims Woodbridge man, 19, was beaten outside Acapulco nightclub but police say he was hit-and-run victim.
Adam DePrisco had worked for months to save enough money to go to Acapulco with a long-time friend – his first vacation without family.
But just three days after landing in Mexico for the two-week stay, the 19-year-old Woodbridge man was killed.
Now his family is demanding to know what happened.
Mexican authorities say he was struck by a car after leaving a nightclub on a busy road but the family believes he was beaten after dancing with a local man's girlfriend. The one thing both parties agree on is that DePrisco – who worked by day as a painter with his uncle and by night clearing tables at a Woodbridge restaurant – was killed by someone who has not been apprehended.
Overwhelmed with grief, DePrisco's mother Carm and father Benny, have been staying with relatives, unable to return to a home filled with pictures and memories of their son. With the help of a large and close family, they have made dozens of phone calls to Mexican and Canadian authorities, but still don't believe their son's death is getting the attention it deserves.
"I want these guys found," said DePrisco's older brother Tony at his uncle's home yesterday. "It seems like everybody is trying to cover up what happened."
"We have theories but no facts," said DePrisco's uncle, Claudio Pannozzi.
"There's no clear indication as to what happened and it seems like no one wants to help us find answers" said DePrisco's aunt, Lucy Defilippis-Pannozzi.
Mexican police told the Star yesterday they are investigating what they believe was a hit-and-run accident early Sunday morning. DePrisco died in a Mexican hospital at 9:15 p.m. Monday. An aunt and uncle made it to his bedside before he died and have been dealing with Mexican police and hospital officials.
Initially the family believed he was hit by a car, but now believe he was beaten, especially after speaking to DePrisco's travelling companion Marco Calabro and the relatives who flew to Mexico hours after hearing he was in hospital.
"I want someone to find who did this to my son," said Carm DePrisco, sobbing uncontrollably. "I want someone to take charge. I lost my son, I'm not going to let this go without being fought."
Carm DePrisco has been weeping since she received a phone call from her son's friend around 5 a.m. Sunday.
According to family, Adam DePrisco went to a nightclub with his friend on Saturday night. He was dancing with a local woman when a man, possibly her boyfriend, became upset.
A bouncer threw DePrisco from the bar, the family believes. When Calabro went looking for him, he found his friend on the ground outside the club, bleeding from his head, said Tony DePrisco.
Police in Acapulco said DePrisco's injuries were typical for someone struck by a car. But the family believes he would have suffered more than head injuries if hit by a car.
The investigation is continuing, said Victor Hernández, a spokesperson for Acapulco police.
DePrisco was a good man who never had run-ins with the law and loved to make others happy, his family said. After graduating from high school he decided to take a year off, save some money and take a two-week vacation to Mexico. He wanted to become a tool and die maker and planned to begin an apprenticeship later this year.
"He worked hard and never depended on anyone," said brother Tony. "He had a big heart."
Through their frustration and hunt for answers, the DePriscos said they want Canadians to be safe, perhaps even through a travel ban to Mexico.
"We don't want people coming home from Mexico like Adam," said Pannozzi.
Calls to the Mexican Embassy in Ottawa were not returned.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said a travel advisory is in place that urges travellers to exercise "caution and prudence" travelling in Mexico.
The department is aware of DePrisco's death but there are no plans to request that Canadians not travel to Mexico, said Rejean Beaulieu, a spokesperson for the department.
"We are helping the family. We've been in touch with them to see what kind of assistance they are looking for," he said.
But the family said they still don't have answers.
DePrisco's body is expected to arrive in Canada today or tomorrow. Funeral arrangements have not been confirmed. |
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