Adopted 16 year Daughter may of killed Mother

An American woman living in Mexico was murdered and her adopted daughter, now missing, may be implicated in her death. The woman's body was found at her home in the central Mexico city of San Miguel de Allende.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico lists the woman as Joyous Heart, but gives no information on her hometown.

Asked about the case, the prosecutors' office in northern Guanajuato said Thursday that the woman was found stabbed to death in her home on Feb. 1. Her throat was slashed.

The prosecutors' statement did not name the victim, but gave a case file number that matched descriptions in local press reports of Heart's killing.

San Miguel de Allende is a colonial city located in Guanajuato state and is popular with American tourists and expats.

According to the newspaper Correo’s website, the woman, whose body was found last Friday night, had 40 stab wounds. They added that the adopted daughter of the woman is missing.

Neighbors said the two fought often.

The woman was the owner of the house and rented spaces to two other people.

The renters said there had been an altercation between Heart and her daughter. The daughter had not been seen since she left the property, which the renters said was odd.

The paper also says the daughter was not at the site and was adopted four years ago, when she was 14, and is diagnosed with severe schizophrenia.