Mexico Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam announced on Sunday that DNA testing has confirmed that the remains found in a Southern Mexico garbage dump correspond with one of 43 students who disappeared in September.
A piece of bone found among the burnt remains was traced to missing student Alexander Mora Venancio, 19, solidifying the government's theory that the students were all murdered by a drug gang with ties to the local police.
[seealso slug="ayotzinapa-timeline-mexico-disappearance"]
According to an earlier federal investigation, Mora and 42 other students of the Rural Normal School of Ayotzinapa were taken by police at the command of a local mayor, Jose Luis Abarca, and his wife. Authorities say the students were then handed over to members of the Guerreros Unidos drug gang, who killed them, burned their bodies and dumped the remains into a landfill.
The case has exposed the depth of drug cartel ties to the Mexican government and sparked global demonstrations against government corruption in Mexico.
Authorities have detained more than 70 people in the case, including Abarca and his wife. Many are demanding the resignation of Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto, whose approval ratings have hit record lows in the wake of the scandal. Ángel Aguirre Rivero, the governor of Guerrero, Mexico, where the kidnappings occurred, was also forced to resign.
Many have cast doubt on the government's version of events, holding out hope that the students might still be found alive. Omar Garcia, a student at the Normal school, told the Associated Press that Mora's father is demanding justice after learning the fate of his son.
"He will never give up," Garcia said. "He will never get over his pain, but what he wants to tell all of you, and what we all want to say is this: We want justice!"
Ezequiel, father of Alexander Mora, student from teacher's college in #Ayotzinapa- he was confirmed being murdered and burned to ashes by drug cartel members in gang with police men in #Guerrero State. #nytimes #mexico #YaMeCanse A photo posted by Paulina Villegas (@paminitas) on Dec 12, 2014 at 11:20am PST
Mora's classmates at the teachers college had dubbed the teen farmer "The Rock," Garcia said.
"He was a classmate who was very strong, very persevering in whatever he had as a goal," Garcias said. "It's a big loss."
Some parents are still refusing to believe the government's version of events, saying they will continue to search for their children. A protest took place Saturday after news broke that Mora's remains had been identified. Marching to the protest site Saturday, thousands of people filled the streets of central Mexico City shouting, "Justice," ''We want them alive" and "Pena out."
"The parents will not rest until we have justice," said Felipe de la Cruz, the father of one of the missing students, while addressing the crowd. "If they think one confirmation will leave us simply to mourn, they're wrong."
Additional reporting by The Associated Press.