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Mexican authorities have arrested the partner of an Indiana mother who was found dead months after she disappeared with her seven children, prosecutors said Monday.
Makala Pendley, 30, of Indianapolis, was identified as the victim after authorities in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas investigated the discovery of a woman’s body near the municipality of Zinacantán. Family members said Pendley was six months pregnant at the time of her disappearance.
During a Facebook Live briefing Monday, Chiapas State Prosecutor Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca announced the arrest of a suspect identified as Joseph “N,” whom he described as Pendley’s partner and the primary suspect in the case.
“In the coming hours, his criminal responsibility will be determined, and he may be brought before justice. We will seek the maximum sentence of 100 years for this perpetrator of femicide,” Llaven Abarca said during the briefing.
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Makala Pendley poses for a photo with several of her children. Mexican authorities said Pendley, an Indianapolis mother of seven, was found dead in Chiapas after she disappeared earlier this year. (GoFundMe)
The prosecutor also announced that Pendley’s seven children had been located and placed under government protection. According to Llaven Abarca, the children were in “good health,” and authorities were coordinating with the U.S. Embassy to reunite them with family members.
Pendley and her seven children were reported missing in February after traveling to Mexico. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children issued a missing-person alert after they disappeared from Indianapolis on Feb. 23.
Days before identifying Pendley, Llaven Abarca disclosed during a separate Facebook Live briefing that investigators had recovered the body of a woman in the Elambó Bajo area of Zinacantán.
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Downtown Indianapolis is seen on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (Max Gersh/Indy Star)
According to Llaven Abarca, preliminary findings indicated the victim died from a traumatic brain injury caused by blunt-force trauma. Investigators believe the body had been left at the location for between eight and 12 hours before it was discovered.
Indianapolis police previously said the family had been located in Mexico last month and that the children were briefly taken into custody by Mexican authorities before being returned to Pendley.
During Monday’s briefing, Llaven Abarca said authorities learned through coordination with U.S. officials that the suspect allegedly has a criminal history in the United States, including an active arrest warrant in Alaska and an Indianapolis police alert connected to the disappearance of Pendley and the children.
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A view of the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, where authorities said Makala Pendley’s body was discovered.
Llaven Abarca further alleged that the suspect had previously been detained on charges including assault, robbery, fraud, illegal weapons possession, intimidation and rape.
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Butler could not immediately be reached for comment.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Llaven Abarca, the Chiapas State Prosecutor’s Office and the U.S. State Department for additional information.