Puerto Vallarta (PVDN) – The trial for the disappearance of Canadian snowbird Malcolm Madsen in Puerto Vallarta more than four years ago is set to begin this week, with his former Mexican girlfriend and two other suspects facing charges of orchestrating his disappearance.
Marcela Acosta Ramos, 48, along with her son Andres Javier Romero Acosta and brother Martin Alejandro Acosta Ramos, have been charged with a “disappearance committed by individuals” because the fate of Madsen, who went missing on October 28, 2018, is still unknown. Prosecutors in Puerto Vallarta, where the trial will be held, are seeking a prison sentence of between 25 and 50 years for the accused, and plan to present some 100 pieces of evidence to the court.
Madsen was a jeweler and retired real estate agent from Sutton, Ont., who went missing after going out for drinks with Acosta at a popular Puerto Vallarta tourist spot called Andale’s Restaurant and Bar. Mullins, Madsen’s daughter, conducted her own investigation into his disappearance, pushing Mexican authorities to do more to find out what happened. She will appear as a witness for the prosecution during the trial, which is expected to last a week. Mullins’s quest for answers has led to disturbing revelations about the lack of a competent police investigation, an absence of support from Global Affairs Canada, and a recent documentary film chronicling her search for answers.
When Brook Mullins rushed to Puerto Vallarta to look for her father Malcolm Madsen, she discovered security video footage from Andale’s bar that showed her father and his former girlfriend Marcela Acosta Ramos drinking on the night he went missing. The footage shows Ramos taking a white pill or powder from her purse and cradling it in her left hand beneath the table. When Madsen returned from the washroom and leaned in to speak to Ramos, she lifted her hand and appeared to sprinkle the substance into his drink. After leaving the bar, Madsen appeared off-balance as they got into a cab, and he has not been seen or heard from since.
Ramos claims that she and Madsen returned home that night, and he left for his beachside treehouse a few hours south of the city the following morning. However, evidence collected by Mullins during her own investigation, which included hiring lawyers and private investigators, revealed inconsistencies in Ramos’s testimony. For example, Ramos told the police that Madsen’s van remained in the garage all night, but GPS tracking data showed that the vehicle traveled to several locations during the night, including a jungle area and a marina.
Furthermore, a statement to the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office by the taxi driver who picked up Madsen and Ramos contradicted Ramos’s claim that they returned home immediately. The taxi driver stated that he dropped them off at another bar, Mandala, and during the drive, Ramos communicated on the phone with her son Andres, who in turn communicated with his uncle and Ramos’s brother Martin. Ramos has maintained her innocence, but Mullins’s investigation has raised questions about her involvement in Madsen’s disappearance.
The investigation into Madsen’s disappearance was initially slow, with local authorities failing to take basic steps such as retracing the van’s route, dusting the vehicle for fingerprints, conducting luminol tests for blood traces, or searching the house. These steps were only completed after Brook Mullins’s lawyer filed motions with the Jalisco attorney general. In April 2022, local authorities conducted a ground search of a forested area of Puerto Vallarta, but they found nothing related to Madsen.
Mullins has criticized the lack of support from Global Affairs Canada, which she says has not provided her with information about her father’s case or helped to pressure local authorities to act. She recently asked Global Affairs for a translator for the upcoming trial, but the agency told her that it is the responsibility of the Mexican courts to provide translation services, although she can hire her own if she wishes. A Global Affairs spokesperson stated that the agency is providing consular services to the family in Canada and is in contact with local authorities to gather additional information.
Mullins says she feels abandoned by Global Affairs and is frustrated by the constant betrayal and letdown. She questions the agency’s usefulness if they cannot provide a translator for her during the trial.
Puerto Vallarta (PVDN) - The trial for the disappearance of Canadian snowbird Malcolm Madsen in Puerto Vallarta more than four years ago is set to begin . . .
