# Safety in Rosarito Beach



## Pauly01

I read many ppl mention its very safe there. But is it true going out at night by yourself is never a good idea? I know the American media makes Mexico sound really bad.


Most ppl seem to say its lot safer than us cities but then there are others that say its not safe and theres some things that are not mentioned in the news.



I assume if you are downtown or close to downtown, its fine?


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## AlanMexicali

Pauly01 said:


> I read many ppl mention its very safe there. But is it true going out at night by yourself is never a good idea? I know the American media makes Mexico sound really bad.
> 
> 
> Most ppl seem to say its lot safer than us cities but then there are others that say its not safe and theres some things that are not mentioned in the news.
> 
> 
> 
> I assume if you are downtown or close to downtown, its fine?



Rosarito is experiencing a crime wave and I wouldn´t go out at night downtown without a couple more friends accompanying you or in your car or a known taxi. It is a unique situation there but the newer Mayor recently fired the corrupt Chief of pólice and hoping the new Chief is going to clean up the mess left behind. The jail is one of the worse jails in Mexico I have heard.

I personally would not move to Rosarito at the present time. There are so many better and more interesting and more secure places to live here.

http://www.rense.com/general79/mxc.htm


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## TundraGreen

AlanMexicali said:


> Rosarito is experiencing a crime wave and I wouldn´t go out at night downtown without a couple more friends accompanying you or in your car or a known taxi. It is a unique situation there but the newer Mayor recently fired the corrupt Chief of pólice and hoping the new Chief is going to clean up the mess left behind. The jail is one of the worse jails in Mexico I have heard.
> 
> I personally would not move to Rosarito at the present time. There are so many better and more interesting and more secure places to live here.
> 
> Crimes Against Americans Empty Mexico Beaches


The article you linked is from January 7, 2008.


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## Hound Dog

_


TundraGreen said:



The article you linked is from January 7, 2008.

Click to expand...

_Not that I would ever be attracted to or visit Rosarito Beach but even if that article about crime in that área dates back to 2008 - six years ago - the question is; has crime in Rosarito Beach become more or less of a problem between then and now.

Sincé we moved to the Chiapas Highlands in 2006, we have become aware , just from living there and listening to local radio broadcasts, that Chiapas is a very violent place and most of the violence is never reported except on local radio. Northern Baja is not even close to Highland Chapas culturally or in terms of banditry and killings and we love living in Chiapas but my bet is that crime in both Northern Baja and Chiapas is much worse than in 2008. As Bob Dylan wrote a long time ago; "You Don´t Have to be a Weatherman to See Which Way the Wind is Blowing."


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## chicois8

Here are a couple that are recent, there are many more that go unreported......

Borderland Beat: 4 Dead after shootout in Rosarito, including 11yr Boy.

Rosarito lifeguard shot to death while on beach patrol


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## AlanMexicali

Hound Dog said:


> Not that I would ever be attracted to or visit Rosarito Beach but even if that article about crime in that área dates back to 2008 - six years ago - the question is; has crime in Rosarito Beach become more or less of a problem between then and now.
> 
> Sincé we moved to the Chiapas Highlands in 2006, we have become aware , just from living there and listening to local radio broadcasts, that Chiapas is a very violent place and most of the violence is never reported except on local radio. Northern Baja is not even close to Highland Chapas culturally or in terms of banditry and killings and we love living in Chiapas but my bet is that crime in both Northern Baja and Chiapas is much worse than in 2008. As Bob Dylan wrote a long time ago; "You Don´t Have to be a Weatherman to See Which Way the Wind is Blowing."


First, sorry about the date. It has 1-7-2 on it and I thought for a fraction of a moment; What is that for?

It appears a bit more intense in Rosarito lately than before as the article did not really concentrate on Rosarito, but Baja. I thought the part about the new Rosarito Pólice Chief was current. It sounded about right.

Many Expats and locals are dismayed about the situation there.


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## RVGRINGO

I am beginning to think that Pauly is a troll. If not; too timid to do anything alone, like taking a trip to explore.


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## AlanMexicali

chicois8 said:


> Here are a couple that are recent, there are many more that go unreported......
> 
> Borderland Beat: 4 Dead after shootout in Rosarito, including 11yr Boy.
> 
> Rosarito lifeguard shot to death while on beach patrol


Surprised you did not find an article on the murder of the owner of Baja Mar Resort and golf course recently. Important guy in the área with a lot of money.


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## chicois8

AlanMexicali said:


> Surprised you did not find an article on the murder of the owner of Baja Mar Resort and golf course recently. Important guy in the área with a lot of money.


Your surprised? I was giving a couple of recent examples unlike the old news you contributed, these were cases I new about personally...If you want to add another murder at Baja Mar then link it, when were you last in Rosarito Beach?


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## AlanMexicali

chicois8 said:


> Your surprised? I was giving a couple of recent examples unlike the old news you contributed, these were cases I new about personally...If you want to add another murder at Baja Mar then link it, when were you last in Rosarito Beach?


July 2012 for a day and know a large family there that I visit and 1 Expat. I used to go there on the hottest days when living in Mexicali but moved to Central Mexico full time 2 years ago.


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## Hound Dog

_


AlanMexicali said:



July 2012 for a day and know a large family there that I visit and 1 Expat. I used to go there on the hottest days when living in Mexicali but moved to Central Mexico full time 2 years ago.

Click to expand...

_ I can fully inderstand, Alan, why you would prefer San Luis Potosí City over Rosarito Beach. No question that the climates in both places are nice and moderate most of the time but I think of San Luis as a real city with much business activity, a large population and some fine architecture in the historic center, attractive andadores and pleasant restaurants. I haven´t been to Rosarito since the 1960s so can´t say what it is like today but what is taking place there now in terms of crime is not surprising to me. A poisoned environment with drug cartels, opportunistic bandits and way too close to Southern California´s Los Angeles Basin and Metro San Diego with the widepread violence in those places where I used to live for a number of years.

This business of the scope of violence one might expect to experience in any particular región anywhere based on statistics is absurd outside of true and active war zones and even in those zones one can live in peace if not involved with one of the contestants seeking control. 

When we moved to San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas in 2006, the group to be feared according to local lore and the international press was the Zapatistas after their 1994 rebellion and the short civil war that followed. I won´t go into that as much research can be accomplished on the internet by the inquisitive although most information there will be misleading at best. Today, Chiapas seems tranquil if you don´t speak Spanish, Tzotzil or Tzeltal and listen to the local radio but it is not tranquil at all and the seeming tranquility is superficial to say the least. Much of this incessant violence arises from intercommunity disputes about land or wáter rights among the indigenous and, get this, the rest of the Mexican community down there or the press don´t give a damn about these disputes or how many die in their resolution and, believe me, there are many fatalities some of them gruesome. 

Don´t worry about what goes on in Mexico , just mind your own business.


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## Isla Verde

RVGRINGO said:


> I am beginning to think that Pauly is a troll. If not; too timid to do anything alone, like taking a trip to explore.


No negative personal comments about other posters, please (see Forum Rule #1). Let's keep in mind that Pauly is moving to Mexico to be able to continue his online poker playing, not because he has a great interest in seeing Mexico or in traveling in general. Maybe he's not spent much (or any) time out of the States before.


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## Hound Dog

_


Isla Verde said:



No negative personal comments about other posters, please (see Forum Rule #1). Let's keep in mind that Pauly is moving to Mexico to be able to continue his online poker playing, not because he has a great interest in seeing Mexico or in traveling in general. Maybe he's not spent much (or any) time out of the States before.

Click to expand...

_Sorry, IV, that was not meant as a negative cmment to Pauly. Perhaps I phrased it poorly. I can see how my comment could be misinterpreted. One survives well in Chiapas by minding one´s own business because the business of others in interraction with those unknown to one is often unfathomable therefore it is best not to interfere with the affairs of others unbekownst to oneself. Or whatever.


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## Isla Verde

Hound Dog said:


> Sorry, IV, that was not meant as a negative cmment to Pauly. Perhaps I phrased it poorly. I can see how my comment could be misinterpreted. One survives well in Chiapas by minding one´s own business because the business of others in interraction with those unknown to one is often unfathomable therefore it is best not to interfere with the affairs of others unbekownst to oneself. Or whatever.


Hound Dog, I was commenting on RV's labeling of Pauly as a possible troll.


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## ojosazules11

Hound Dog said:


> One survives well in Chiapas by minding one´s own business because the business of others in interraction with those unknown to one is often unfathomable therefore it is best not to interfere with the affairs of others unbekownst to oneself. Or whatever.


I certainly know what you are talking about. I was a young, wide eyed trusting Nebraska farm girl when I first became involved in working with Central American refugees, and then increasingly immersed in Guatemalan culture in the 1980's at the height of military repression, civil war, death squads, _desaparecidos_, scorched earth campaigns, massacres of entire villages, etc. 

I was used to living in towns where everyone knew everyone else's business, and if they didn't, well by golly it was perfectly acceptable to ask them right out. I truly underwent a cultural transformation when I realized that in the Central American context of the 1980's sharing information - as innocent as it might seem - could put lives at risk. 

For a while I felt everyone was paranoid, then I thought I was becoming paranoid, now I just think I'm discreet and that many people (such as my Midwestern relatives) are way too free at inquiring about and sharing other people's business.


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## RVGRINGO

I did not intend to insult Pauly, but I do wonder why he posts one question at a time; and in multiple places. Most of us, on the mainland of Mexico, really don‘t know much about the details of Lower California.


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## Isla Verde

RVGRINGO said:


> I did not intend to insult Pauly, but I do wonder why he posts one question at a time; and in multiple places. Most of us, on the mainland of Mexico, really don‘t know much about the details of Lower California.


Maybe he has nowhere else to turn for help.


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## TundraGreen

RVGRINGO said:


> I did not intend to insult Pauly, but I do wonder why he posts one question at a time; and in multiple places. Most of us, on the mainland of Mexico, really don‘t know much about the details of Lower California.


It is a little strange to talk about a person in the third person when he/she is probably listening to the conversation. But…

My impression is that he/she is just enthused about moving to Mexico for the different laws and eager for as much information as possible. And maybe a little young and not too experienced about how different it can be living in another country.


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## Longford

TundraGreen said:


> It is a little strange to talk about a person in the third person when he/she is probably listening to the conversation. But….


And with the half dozen or so questions the person has asked, and the discussions which have begun ... I'm recalling that the person has only come back to one of those discussions once or twice. I think it's rude to 'hit and run' after starting a discussion.


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## Pauly01

Im asking single questions because its those that came up to my mind. 

I don't travel that much and when i do its almost always in the usa. I have traveled outside the us but of course it wasn't in a country where you hear lot of stuff in the news about it.


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## TundraGreen

Longford said:


> And with the half dozen or so questions the person has asked, and the discussions which have begun ... I'm recalling that the person has only come back to one of those discussions once or twice. I think it's rude to 'hit and run' after starting a discussion.


Actually, in this case the OP has stayed pretty involved. This forum is filled with threads that are started with a question from a first-time poster, then go on for pages before anyone notices that the person who started the thread never returned.


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## Pauly01

Someone posted these a while back


I live in Rosarito and I wouldn't exactly call it safe. There has been a sharp rise in murders and shootings in broad daylight, and those who live in gated and closed communities are blind to such events. The former mayor Hugo Torres recently admitted in a public event that Rosarito is seeing a spike in crime and murders that rival the peak times of the Narco battles. Don't take my word for it or the US Press. Go read the local Mexican Press El Mexicano and the Frontera and use Google Translate if you don't know Spanish. You can see for yourself just how "safe" it is here. Warning though: The local press does not sugar coat the news and can be graphic, so you've been warned.


This month a lifeguard was shot to death on the beach by a surfer and a man and woman riding in a taxi were shot to death at a stop sign.......both incidents were in broad daylight........


I read about the lifeguard and he had received threats from some guy earlier. But the man and woman riding in taxi, does anyone have a link to this story? And where was this and were those ppl innocent ppl or innocent tourists?


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## TundraGreen

Pauly01 said:


> Someone posted these a while back
> 
> 
> I live in Rosarito and I wouldn't exactly call it safe. There has been a sharp rise in murders and shootings in broad daylight, and those who live in gated and closed communities are blind to such events. The former mayor Hugo Torres recently admitted in a public event that Rosarito is seeing a spike in crime and murders that rival the peak times of the Narco battles. Don't take my word for it or the US Press. Go read the local Mexican Press El Mexicano and the Frontera and use Google Translate if you don't know Spanish. You can see for yourself just how "safe" it is here. Warning though: The local press does not sugar coat the news and can be graphic, so you've been warned.
> 
> 
> This month a lifeguard was shot to death on the beach by a surfer and a man and woman riding in a taxi were shot to death at a stop sign.......both incidents were in broad daylight........
> 
> 
> I read about the lifeguard and he had received threats from some guy earlier. But the man and woman riding in taxi, does anyone have a link to this story? And where was this and were those ppl innocent ppl or innocent tourists?


I think you need to check it out for yourself. Visit, talk to people there, see how it feels. Deciding if it is safe by reading the police blotter stories isn't a good way to get a real sense for it. If it was, no one would live in any city.


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## chicois8

Just curious Joseph L, is Pauly01 your poker screen name?????


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## Isla Verde

chicois8 said:


> Just curious Joseph L, is Pauly01 your poker screen name?????


Who is Joseph L?


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## Pauly01

chicois8 said:


> Just curious Joseph L, is Pauly01 your poker screen name?????



no its not.


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## lclegris

The biggest crime in Rosarito is the way the poor horses are treated. They are brought to the beach at 7AM and have no water and no shade for up to 12 hours a day.
They stand in the hot sun or walk back and forth on the beach for hours on end with a heavy saddle on their back all day long...
I've watched from my terrace the stupidity of the care takers (if you can call then that) who think they are training horses and they beat then with a whip. You don't have to beat a horse to train them. They ride yearlings without even thinking about what harm they are doing to the horse. You don't ride yearlings! 
That's a crime! Another crime in Rosarito is the trash that the people leave behind on the beach. There are trash cans all over the place and you would think that they are respectful enough to use them, but NO. I've seen trash piles on the beach less than 5 feet from a trash can! The poor birds are all over the trash in the mornings. 
Trash is harmful to birds. That's a crime! I wish the people that came to visit the beaches were respectful enough to clean up after themselves. 
Maybe I should have started a new thread. Sorry.


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## lclegris

By the way, I've been in and out of Rosarito for the last couple of years. I will be retiring here soon. I haven't seen any problems here and I think it's pretty safe. 
Where can you possibly live that's 100% safe. No where. It depends where you go and how you behave.


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## Pauly01

http://drugwarchroniclesbajacalifornia.com/2014/01/01102013-rash-of-executions-in-rosarito.html


I was told most of the bad things in mexico are in tijuana and its all the way on the east side and not west side. Aren't all these things that happened this year in these articles in rosarito though?

If not, why does it say rosarito. Because one story mention about innocent cab drives and innocent people and this doesn't seem to be drug related.


Can someone with knowledge on this tell me?


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## lclegris

You seem very paranoid about this little beach town. Unfortunately for you with this energy you will attract problems no matter where you go. 
Just don't worry about it and have fun with your life whatever you want to do and wherever you want to go. 
I tried sending you a link but I don't have 5 posts yet. I will try again because it might ease your mind.


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## mxfan

"The sky is falling, the sky is falling".


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## Pauly01

lclegris said:


> You seem very paranoid about this little beach town. Unfortunately for you with this energy you will attract problems no matter where you go.
> Just don't worry about it and have fun with your life whatever you want to do and wherever you want to go.
> I tried sending you a link but I don't have 5 posts yet. I will try again because it might ease your mind.



I appreciate it. Looking forward to the link.


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## Pauly01

mxfan said:


> "The sky is falling, the sky is falling".



Well i wanted to know if this is actually rosarito beach or not. Everything i hear bad is mostly tijuana and i was told its all the way on the east side and these articles all mention rosarito beach.


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## AlanMexicali

Pauly01 said:


> http://drugwarchroniclesbajacalifornia.com/2014/01/01102013-rash-of-executions-in-rosarito.html
> 
> 
> I was told most of the bad things in mexico are in tijuana and its all the way on the east side and not west side. Aren't all these things that happened this year in these articles in rosarito though?
> 
> If not, why does it say rosarito. Because one story mention about innocent cab drives and innocent people and this doesn't seem to be drug related.
> 
> 
> Can someone with knowledge on this tell me?


East side of TJ is a poorer área for the most part off of Augascaliente Blvd. and I have friends for years in TJ telling me it is run by various local gangs that are LA, San Diego etc. deportees and locals using the style they used in the various LA gangs for decades. They run each street according to who owns it at that time and even extort and bully the small business owners and residences. I think most of the violence is inter-gang territorial fighting as many gangs want more streets to run.

Maggies Blog has achieves you can search.


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## lclegris

Like I said before, it depends where you go, who you hang out with and your activities and behavior. 
If you are not in to drugs and hang out with good people and just live your live like a normal person you will be ok...
This should be my #5 post. I hope.


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## lclegris

https://m.facebook.com/groups/113438025358514?view=permalink&id=724405477595096
Maybe this will help you


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## AlanMexicali

Pauly01 said:


> Well i wanted to know if this is actually rosarito beach or not. Everything i hear bad is mostly tijuana and i was told its all the way on the east side and these articles all mention rosarito beach.


Yes it is Rosarito and close by and the tip of the iceberg.


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## mxfan

Pauly01 said:


> Well i wanted to know... Everything i hear... and i was told..


I learned at a very early age to; listen to others' opinions but realize it's only their opinions. I also learned, but at an older age, that the media are people with limited life experiences and only have one goal; to put something on paper so they will have a job tomorrow. Sensationalism sells papers. 

I don't know how many tens of thousands of people live in Rosarito but it seems they are able to survive somehow. I can probably find news articles to support what ever I choose to believe. 

I have lived in Tijuana for 3 years in a neighborhood many Mexicans say is dangerous. I have not had problems and enjoy my house because of the location, the families around me, there are children playing in the streets and several venders pass by everyday. When I ask the people who say the neighborhood is dangerous if they have lived there, all of them say they have not live there but "have heard" and "was told" it is dangerous. I keep my place secured, don't seek out trouble and respect other people. 

My life has been mostly in Cities and I have a frame of reference of the good, bad and ugly of anyplace other humans occupy. 

I have not lived in Rosarito but I suspect it is not different than other places.


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## TundraGreen

mxfan said:


> I learned at a very early age to; listen to others' opinions but realize it's only their opinions. I also learned, but at an older age, that the media are people with limited life experiences and only have one goal; to put something on paper so they will have a job tomorrow. Sensationalism sells papers.
> 
> I don't know how many tens of thousands of people live in Rosarito but it seems they are able to survive somehow. I can probably find news articles to support what ever I choose to believe.
> 
> I have lived in Tijuana for 3 years in a neighborhood many Mexicans say is dangerous. I have not had problems and enjoy my house because of the location, the families around me, there are children playing in the streets and several venders pass by everyday. When I ask the people who say the neighborhood is dangerous if they have lived there, all of them say they have not live there but "have heard" and "was told" it is dangerous. I keep my place secured, don't seek out trouble and respect other people.
> 
> My life has been mostly in Cities and I have a frame of reference of the good, bad and ugly of anyplace other humans occupy.
> 
> I have not lived in Rosarito but I suspect it is not different than other places.


I have the same experience. I live in the center of Guadalajara and people from more suburban parts of Guadalajara frequently ask me if it is safe. It is, but the impression people have of it is inaccurate. It is not just my opinion that it is safe; I see lots of people walking around my neighborhood at night, including women who are alone (and they are not "working").


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## chicois8

*Rosarito UPDATE*

Que Lastima:

Body of elderly US woman found in refrigerator in Mexico


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## AlanMexicali

From a Baja Facebook group:

"The Gendarmeria are very present in Rosarito today. Saw three different groups, all with different vehicle types. I talked with some local shopkeepers who are optimistic security will be restored with their arrival. Rosarito is busy and lots of cyclists were training for next weeks ride. It looked like the old days but for the lack of ****** tourists in town. I hope this is a turning point."

Gendarmeria is a new Federal Pólice división trained to keep security in unsecured places. Hopefully with the new Pólice Chief in Rosarito and the Federal Pólice involved Rosarito will become more secure soon. 

For people who haven´t been following the past 2 or 3 years of events there and those who denied it was very bad lately I presume the Federal Gov´t. wouldn´t have sent this new pólice división there if it was not true.


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## chicois8

Mexico police seek killers of elderly American
September 5, 2014
Associated Press
Save | 
TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — Mexican authorities are seeking the killers of a 97-year-old woman who was found murdered this week, her body stored in the refrigerator of her home in Rosarito Beach, an upscale beach town near Tijuana.

Baja California assistant prosecutor's spokesman Raul Gutierrez on Friday identified the woman as 97-year-old Hellen Mani, originally of Ohio. He said she had stab wounds to her head and neck and had been beaten.

Gutierrez says Main had paid a couple every month to care for her. But he said the woman recently left and the man was caring for Mani alone.

Neighbors called police Tuesday because all was quiet at the home after they heard a loud argument there Monday evening.

Police found blood on the second floor and Mani's body in the refrigerator.


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## Pauly01

Has it been really really bad in rosarito recently? Read there is lot of problems lately now. I haven't made the move yet but lot of these things im reading on sites about rosarito really makes it dangerous now as i read very few ppl go there now.


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