5 roles that factor into the thinking of state agents when they conduct the investigations. Hence, gender discrimination is itself an obstacle in the investigative process. 25. As for the way in which these murders of women are committed, the petitioners point out that many of them are exceptionally brutal; many female victims have been raped, mutilated and dismembered. The petitioners observe that although these crimes are happening within a society in which violence is a structural problem, femicide in Guatemala is unique in some respects, as it is a phenomenon occurring within a patriarchal social organization, in which the murderers choose their victims for gender-related reasons. 26. The petitioners maintain that since approval of the admissibility report, the State has confined itself to submitting “vague and imprecise reports” that contain no specific information regarding lines or leads in the investigation; no explanations are given as to why evidence was not taken that was vital to solving the crime, or why the State was negligent in conducting the forensic examination of the body. They also maintain that the State confines itself to two specific aspects of the petitioners’ observations, without indicating what other procedures and measures it will take to get at the truth about what happened. They also contend that the State has shown nothing to indicate that there was ever any real method to its investigation, since it has said nothing about whether the investigation was pursuing a theory about what happened or whether its theory changed. The petitioners also allege that the change in the prosecutors assigned to the case, a fact acknowledged by the State, encumbered the State’s ability to pursue a coherent line of investigation and, in the end, delayed the investigation. 27. The petitioners have informed the Commission that in addition to María Isabel Véliz Franco, the following persons also had their rights violated and are therefore victims in this case: Mrs. Rosa Elvira Franco Sandoval (mother), Leonel Enrique Véliz Franco (brother), José Roberto Franco (brother), Cruz Elvira Sandoval Polanco de Franco (grandmother, died in April 2011), and Roberto Franco Pérez (grandfather, died in 2004). B. The State 28. The State acknowledged to the IACHR that it was at fault for the failure to pursue the investigation into the death of María Isabel Véliz Franco with the necessary due diligence, specifically its failure to have certain forensic tests done on the body, the delay in the investigation caused by the conflict of jurisdiction, and for not having taken an effective precautionary measure to ensure the 6 presence of Osbel Airosa as a suspect in the murder. 29. Nevertheless, the State denies a number of the petitioners’ claims. It makes particular mention of their claim that there was no follow-up of the telephone call made by an anonymous informant in which he provided information about the murder. It gives its assurances that a search was conducted at the address given by the anonymous informant and there was no mistake made about the address where the search was conducted, since 6th Street 5-24 in Colonia Nueva Monserrat is located in zone 3 of the neighboring municipality of Mixco and not in zone 7 of Guatemala City, as was mistakenly reported. In this connection, the State asserts that based on the information contained in the January 15, 2002 report, surveillance began of the residence located on 6th Street 5-24, Colonia Nueva Monserrat, Zone 3 of Mixco, and no vehicle matching the description given was seen. The State points out that on December 20, 2001, the Mixco Property Registration and Survey Department was asked to provide a report on the owner of that property; on January 8, 2002, investigators went back to the property to get more information about the owner. 30. The State also claims that surveillance at the indicated address began as soon as the anonymous call was received; PNC agents entered the residence, spoke with the persons living there and requested information from the Office of the Superintendent of Tax Administration (SAT) concerning 6 The State’s communication of August 12, 2009; IACHR, Hearing Minutes No. 5, Case 12.578, María Isabel Véliz Franco, Guatemala, March 20, 2009.