On May 19, 2019, Ulises Serrano and Gerardo Díaz arrived in Nezahualcóyotl, State of Mexico, hired to entertain at a children’s party. Hours later, they were under arrest, accused of attempting to kidnap a minor. A third man dressed as a clown was arrested alongside them that same afternoon and released shortly afterward, without anyone explaining why.
The sentence came quickly: 17 years and 6 months in prison for two men whose only exculpatory evidence consisted of videos, photographs, witness statements, and a service contract that no one reviewed thoroughly. For nearly seven years, Erika and Sara —Ulises’s mother and Gerardo’s wife— pursued a case that seemed closed forever, until in May 2024 the Penitencia MX project, created by Saskia Niño de Rivera, found the cracks in the case file.
On September 10, 2026, the gates of Neza-Bordo prison opened for both men. They emerged amid cheers and embraces, with the freedom that the system took seven years to return to them because of an error that could have been prevented from the very first interrogation.