Boy, 5, murdered by evil loan shark thugs over mum's £40 unpaid debt

A five-year-old boy has been found dead after his mum failed to pay a £40 debt to the loan sharks keeping him hostage. Fernando, as he has been identified, was held captive for at least eight days before his body was found in a sack among rubbish near Mexico City. He died from a skull fracture, the forensic report revealed, and also had injuries to his chest, arms, and legs.

Three members of the same family have been arrested and held in pre-trial detention, as per Mexican outlet Noticieros Televisa. The young child was forcibly removed from his home and kept in their house for at least eight days, prosecutors said. Police officers reported a "rotten smell" during their visit to the home on Monday, where they found Fernando hidden in a sack. The suspects told the officers that the child "ran away and we couldn't find him".

Three months prior, Fernando's mum Noemí reportedly borrowed the equivalent of around £40 from the suspects to help pay the rent on her new home.

Her son was then kidnapped on July 28, and she was told he would be held hostage until she repaid the money.

Noemí said she was able to visit her son a few times, but the suspects always refused to give him back because she did not have the money.

She filed a missing person's report with the Public Ministry, but an investigation wasn't launched until the case was picked up by the State of Mexico Women's Ministry.

One of the suspects, identified only as Lilia N, claimed during a hearing on Thursday that Noemí asked her to look after Fernando while she moved house.

She denied the charges of kidnapping and aggravated homicide, and claimed the boy injured himself by falling.

Prosecutors, however, argued that the loans sharks lied to Noemí, telling her Fernando was with his dad and grandad.

Noemí told reporters that her son was a "loving kid". She added: "He wasn't to blame for anything that happened. I want justice for him."