A 21-year-old student has fallen to her death from her sixth-floor dorm balcony in mysterious circumstances.
Mariana Sousa Bustamante was found in the courtyard below her dorm room at the Unifranz Cochabamba University in Bolivia in the early hours of November 7.
The Brazilian national was finishing her third year at the university.
Despite the fall, she had bruises on her face and arms, according to her family, and the Bolivian authorities were investigating the possibility of foul play.
Mariana shared the flat with two other Brazilian students, a man and a woman, who left the victim alone to go to a party on the evening of November 6.
When they returned at about 2.50am, they found the balcony door open and the victim lying in the courtyard below.
Bolivian police quizzed the two roommates and later released them when CCTV footage apparently confirmed their alibi.
The victim’s mother Juliane Sousa said she spoke with Mariana the day before her death and that she seemed excited about being accepted to work for the Bolivian Red Cross.
“She talked to everyone and was at peace and doing great. That day, the three students were at home, they had lunch together," he said.
“I want to thank many of you for the prayers, words of comfort, love and care that you have shown our family.
“Mariana was a happy girl who infected everyone who had the pleasure of meeting her. Today, we’re left with a lot of nostalgia and good memories because she was my bright daughter.
“Now she is an angel in Heaven and from there she will take care of us all.”
The victim’s grandmother Francisca de Oliveira, 76, said: “They said it was from the sixth storey. I don’t know if she fell or if they did something to her down there. How can we know? We live here and they live at the end of the world.
“Her hand was injured, her face was hurt, from what I could see, she was hurt all over.”
Mariana’s mother said: “I gave a statement about my relationship with Mariana, but at the police station I was not informed of anything. Only that it was an investigation of a suspected homicide.”
She added that the family hired a Bolivian criminal lawyer to keep track of the local police investigation.
The Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said they were in contact with their counterparts in Brazil as well as the victim’s family.
Mariana was buried at the Parque Hortolândia Cemetery in her home state of Sao Paulo on November 11.
The investigation continues.
