Sativa Transue killed by boyfriend during Mexico getaway as family and friends say Washington native was in an emotionally abusive relationship.
A 31-year-old Washington man has been arrested in Mexico for the beating murder of his girlfriend in their Cancun hotel room during a Thanksgiving getaway.
Sativa Transue, 26, was found ‘beaten to a pulp’ in her hotel room at the $200-a-night All Ritmo Resort by a maid on Saturday November 27. She was in Cancun with her boyfriend of three years, Taylor Allen, 31, with local authorities saying the pair had argued the night before.
It remained unclear where the American national was arrested and if he had sought to flee the country, with police in Cancun saying the ‘wanted’ man was arrested two days later on November 29 according to local media.
Sativa told friends that on Friday night, she had to receive medical attention, including receiving stitches after being struck by Allen. At some point hours later, the boyfriend is believed to have beaten Sativa to death in the hotel room.
The girl’s grief stricken family in Washington are now trying to make arrangements to fly Sativa’s body home. The resolve remains pending further investigation.
Controlling boyfriend
Sativa had previously told her friends and her sister that Allen had a violent ‘beast’ within him that emerged when he was drinking.
In the days before her death, she texted friends to say the pair were ‘7 shots and two pina coladas’ deep by noon.
Sativa’s sister Mykayla Bolieu told The Daily Beast: ‘She was enjoying the sunshine and her trip was going okay, but not the best, because they [Sativa and her boyfriend] were fighting.’
In an interview with KREM, Bolieu said that Sativa was planning to head home to the Spokane area for Thanksgiving, only for her boyfriend insisting the pair go to Cancun instead.
‘Her boyfriend was very controlling and he said, ‘No, I don’t want to go home. Let’s go to Mexico,” Bolieu told KREM.
On Friday night, Sativa’s friends received text messages from her saying that Allen had hurt her and left her needing stitches.
‘Apparently, [Sativa’s boyfriend] was threatening to jump off a four-story balcony,’ her mother Jayme Bolieu told The Daily Beast.
So distressed were Sativa’s friends, that they called the police and the FBI the following morning to try and find her.
‘I received a call from the Mexican consulate letting me know my daughter has passed away and that she’s been found dead,’ Jayme told The Daily Beast.
Victim of Femicide
‘How could my beautiful healthy daughter be gone? In another country? It took my breath away. A part of me died. She was my baby. I had her at 16. We grew up together. She was my life, my reason for living, my best friend.’
Jayme said that Allen was ‘very emotionally abusive’ and that they could not text her because he checked her phone or accessed her messages from a computer.
Court records showed Allen had previously been arrested for assault in 2012.
Taylor Allen has been charged with Femicide and is now in Mexican prison awaiting a hearing for his sentence. Femicide refers to the killing of a woman or girl, in particular by a man and on account of her gender.
A celebration of Sativa’s life is being held in Spokane on December 11.
The State Department said: ‘We can confirm the death of a U.S. citizen, Sativa Transue, in Mexico. We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss.
‘The safety and welfare of U.S. citizens overseas is the highest priority of the Department of State. We are closely monitoring local authorities’ investigation into the cause of death and are providing the family all appropriate consular assistance.’
