Former major league pitcher Sergio Mitre was arrested on Monday for drug possession and is being investigated for the rape and murder of a two-year-old girl, according to a report from El Heraldo de Saltillo.
There’s no way to absorb that news, because if that allegation is true, it’s as heinous a crime as is imaginable, let alone trying to fit it into a historical perspective of crimes committed by professional athletes.
The victim, described by the newspaper as Mitre’s “hijastra,” which literally translates to “stepdaughter,” was the daughter of the 19-year-old whom the 39-year-old Mitre has been living with in Saltillo for the past three months.
Mitre, who served a 50-game drug suspension in 2009 while with the Yankees, also was arrested for a domestic violence incident in Mexico last September, and his team, Saraperos de Saltillo, put out a statement condemning domestic violence, then suspended Mitre indefinitely. Mitre was released from prison with an electronic bracelet.
The Saraperos suspension did not last long, as the club not only reinstated Mitre, but kept him as one of the faces of the team. Mitre was brought to a school to sign autographs in February, and as recently as May, Mitre was doing cutesy videos with the team’s bunny mascot. It’s not even like Mitre is some kind of Saltillo legend — he only joined the team in the middle of last year after starting the season with and being released by Dos Laredos. In 14 appearances for Saraperos de Saltillo, Mitre posted a 5.59 ERA.
For the past three months, Mitre had been living with 19-year-old Lilian Inés, the mother of the victim. Inés, according to El Heraldo de Saltillo, took her vomiting daughter to a doctor’s office, and she was initially diagnosed with an upset stomach. As she continued vomiting through the day, Inés took her to the Red Cross, and she was brought to the hospital, where she died. The cause of death was determined to be shock due to a ruptured renal artery resulting from a sexual assault.
Mitre, who was born in Los Angeles, grew up in Tijuana and went to high school in San Diego. He pitched for the Cubs, Marlins, Yankees, and Brewers in his major league career, and had an unsuccessful attempt at a comeback in Japan before joining the Mexican League in 2017. Mitre has two children of his own, and has spent time in previous offseasons coaching kids in Southern California.