Yendry Vásquez’s life changed forever six years ago, when, on March 4, 2020, his only daughter, Allison Bonilla18 years old, disappeared while on his way to his home in Ujarrás de Paraíso, in Cartago.
For six months, Allison’s family searched tirelessly for her. Every day, rescue brigades and volunteers combed the areas where the young woman could be, until Nelson Sanchezher murderer, confessed what he had done with her.
Between September 27 and 28, 2020, bone remains, clothing and footwear were found in a dump in San Jerónimo de Cachí; It was later confirmed that they belonged to Bonilla. Today Sánchez is serving a sentence of 35 years in prison for this crime.
Six years after that bitter chapter, Vásquez agreed to talk to the video podcast of The Nation, In confidence, where he told what his life has been like in this time without Allison, who, he says, was his “entire life”.
“I learned to be strong; at some point I thought I wasn’t, but in the end you have to draw strength from where there is none,” commented Vásquez, who defines herself as a fighter and hard-working woman.
Her motivation to move forward, after a long and exhausting judicial process, is found in the people she loves and who still accompany her. However, he recognizes that his main reason for living It was taken from him six years ago.
“I live the day, waiting for tomorrow to meet her,” he said. “It is very hard, not because it has been six years can I say that it has already happened; For me it’s like it was yesterday”he added.
Vásquez, 44, said that there are those who tell him that “everything in life happens,” but he feels that, in his case, that is not fulfilled. For her, the memories of her daughter are present every day, intertwined with the rage and helplessness of not having her close because someone decided to end her life.
“Every day I cry, maybe people tell me that they see me well, and that in my place they ‘would have died’, and that is what one wishes, but there is a God and He is the one who decides when the day is,” she said.
(Jose Cordero)
‘They locked me in a room’
Bonilla’s case was highly covered by the media and that constant exposure also made the burden for Yendry is heavier. In the newspapers, on the news and on social media, her daughter’s face appeared again and again.
That same face was the one that she, with all her might, wanted to see again in her home, but that instead had only become a regular image of headlines and live broadcasts.
He remembered that, in the first days after the disappearanceher family made the decision to keep her “locked” in a room, to prevent her from seeing news about her daughter, because none provided hope.
Even so, over time, Yendry gathered strength where he felt there was no longer any and decided to go out with his family to fight, to seek and demand answers for Allison.
“Many times the OIJ told us ‘don’t appear on the networks, don’t give statements’, but we said ‘We have to keep fighting because Allison had to appear’. We said: the more we wear the shirt, the more it will appear. Thank God it appeared, not the way we wanted, but it appeared,” he recalled.
Criticism and media pressure
In the midst of pain, Vásquez also learned the other side of public exposure. He said that, throughout his process, he came across very good people who offered him comfort and support in one of the hardest moments of his life, but also with others who They gave their opinion without knowing their reality.
Allison’s mother was the target of numerous criticisms for raising her voice, for talking about the case in the media, and even for starting her own business: a clothing store.
“It was frustrating, I have always said that those people who speak are because they do not have feelings, because they do not know what the situation itself is like, or because A situation like this has not happened to them and having to fight, which is what I did,” he commented.
“When I opened my clothing store they criticized me a lot“They said that who knows where I got that money from, when it was from the settlement they gave me from my previous job,” he recalled.
Good customers came to his store, but also people who murmured or who, without concealment, said hurtful things about his daughter, as well as out of place comments related to the femicide.
Over time, and due to the emotional weight of these accusations, He decided to close the business and look for another job.
“At one point I did feel bad, but I tried to move on. I have realized that I am strong because here I am, with my pain and everything, here I am. I always try to put on my best face, so my heart is broken in two. But I always try to move forward, to fight and give love to those who remain,” he expressed.
After everything happened, Yendry preferred to pay a taxi to go to work, in order to avoid glances and comments. However, over time he made the decision to travel by bus again and expose himself to public spaces again. “I didn’t hurt anyone, they hurt me”he reflected.
Another femicide that marked her
Four years after losing his daughter, Another femicide shook Yendry’s life again. Your friend, Rebeca Castillo was murdered by her husband, Christopher Johnson Castillo, in October 2024.in an event that also left the aggressor’s mother-in-law injured and the couple’s children completely helpless during the attacks.
Regarding this case, the Cartago Deputy Prosecutor’s Office reported that Johnson was sentenced in July 2025 to 45 years and six months in prisonfor one crime of femicide, one of attempted femicide and another of abandonment of an incapable person. The sentence was imposed without going to trial, since the man agreed to undergo an abbreviated procedure and acknowledged all the charges raised by the Prosecutor’s Office.
For Yendry, in addition to the sadness of losing a great friend, this crime rekindled feelings of rage very similar to those he experienced with Allison’s death.
It was also felt, in part, betrayed by Christopherwho knew firsthand the impact that a femicide can have on a family. “It hurt me because he (Christopher) experienced my case with Allison up close. And he still did something like that,” he commented.
He added that he maintains constant communication with Rebeca’s mother, who often asks him how he moves forward after losing a daughter in this way.
Among the memories she treasures, Yendry keeps a very special message that she received from her friend Rebeca: “She told me: ‘You managed to raise your voice for those murdered women, you did it,’” she recalled with emotion.
Vásquez recognizes that his and his family’s fight to find Allison set a precedent among the families of victims of femicides. Many saw in her story an example of the mobilization and resistance that a family can undertake in search of answers and justice.
“If you love a person so much, you have to fight until the end, and that’s what I did,” he said.
Message for other mothers
Asked what she would say to mothers going through pain similar to hers, Vásquez insisted on the importance of holding on to faith. For her, God has been a pillar in the midst of suffering.
“God is the only one who gives us the strength and, if the same thing happens to you as me, fight tirelessly. Hold on to God because only He gives that strength. There are super terrible days, when you wish the world would fall on you. There are days when you feel a little better, there are days when you smile, others when you don’t,” he commented.
He recalled that, for a long time, it bothered him to see members of his family happy or smiling, as if other people’s joy collided with their own pain. Over the years, he understood that this is also part of grieving. “It is something that you will always carry in your heart,” he mentioned.
Sometimes you wonder what would have happened if Allison would have left him a babya physical part of her daughter that will accompany her today. “It would be much more difficult… They are questions without answers, but the pain is always there; it is something we have to live with every day,” he acknowledged.
For women who detect signs of violence or suffer abuse from their partners or another person that puts their life at risk, he recommended speak, don’t stay silent and seek help.
Consolation and hope, in the midst of absence, are also found in knowing that the people He doesn’t forget Allison. Her name and face are still present in feminist marches and demonstrations against gender violence.
“My heart is filled with joy because they have not forgotten her. I do not participate (in the marches), but It is good that they do not stop fighting for those women and those we are also for.. “I feel super proud to see that Allison is always present for many people,” she concluded.
In the midst of pain, Vásquez also found comfort in love. She met a very good man, with whom she has had a relationship for four years and who became a fundamental support in her life.
At the same time, her safe circle includes her mother, who also mourns the loss of her granddaughter and, more recently, her husband. Both women live one day at a time, with scars in their hearts, but with a strength that, despite everything, remains standing.
