If you were anywhere near a television in Mexico back in 2010, you know the name Paulette Gebara Farah. It was a case that didn't just dominate the news cycle—it fundamentally broke something in the public trust. At the center of that whirlwind, standing just slightly to the left of the grieving (and highly scrutinized) mother, was Amanda de la Rosa.
She wasn't a relative. She wasn't a nanny. She was the "best friend." But in the court of public opinion, Amanda became a lightning rod for suspicion, confusion, and eventually, a bizarre kind of fascination.
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The Guest Who Never Left
The basics are haunting. A four-year-old girl with physical disabilities vanishes from her bed in an upscale apartment in Huixquilucan. For nine days, the country is on edge. Then, the unthinkable: her body is found in the very same bed where the search began, wedged between the mattress and the frame.
Here is where it gets weird for Amanda.
While Paulette was missing, Amanda de la Rosa didn't just offer emotional support from afar. She moved into the apartment. She actually slept in the bedroom where Paulette’s body was eventually discovered. Think about that for a second. For days, she was sleeping, dressing, and arguably "living" in a room that was supposed to be a crime scene, yet nobody—not the police, not the parents, and not Amanda—noticed a decomposing body inches away.
People called her "La China." It was a nickname that stuck as she became a fixture in the media circus. Honestly, the optics were terrible. While the search was ongoing, she was seen as the socialite friend who was perhaps a bit too comfortable in the spotlight.
Why the "Accident" Theory Fails the Sniff Test
The official ruling was that Paulette’s death was an accident—mechanical asphyxia. The theory was that the little girl tumbled into the gap at the foot of the bed and couldn't get out.
But if you talk to anyone who followed the case closely, they'll bring up the "Where's Paulette?" book. Amanda wrote it. It’s titled ¿Dónde está Paulette? and it was her attempt to clear her name and tell her side of the story. Instead of quieting the noise, it just added fuel to the fire.
In the book, Amanda describes the chaos inside the apartment. She talks about the smell. Or rather, the lack of it—until there was one. She mentions how the bed was made every single day. The nannies, Erika and Martha Casimiro, insisted they changed the sheets. They were adamant that the body was not there.
The Discrepancies
- The Forensic Video: A leaked video showed experts "finding" the body, but it looked staged. One expert even mentions "she was severely beaten" before the body is fully revealed.
- The Pajamas: There's the infamous "pajama interview" where Lizette Farah (the mother) is being interviewed on the bed, and a pair of pajamas sits nearby—pajamas that Paulette was supposedly wearing when she was found dead later.
- Amanda's Role: She was investigated, detained, and eventually released. There was never enough evidence to charge her with anything, but the friendship with Lizette ended in a spectacular, very public fallout.
Where is Amanda de la Rosa Now?
Life didn't stop after the scandal. Amanda de la Rosa eventually pivoted. She leaned into her creative side, working as a screenwriter and director. If you look up her credits, you'll find projects like María Bonita (2015). She tried to shed the "friend of the Paulette case" label, but in the age of the internet, that's basically impossible.
She’s active in the film world, often focusing on stories that involve social commentary or the female experience. It’s a far cry from the woman who was once hiding from paparazzi in the back of SUVs.
Interestingly, her portrayal in the Netflix series Crime Diaries: The Search (Historia de un Crimen: La Búsqueda) brought her back into the public eye in a big way. The show portrayed her as a somewhat opportunistic character, which she (unsurprisingly) wasn't thrilled about. It’s a classic case of someone losing control of their own narrative.
What Most People Miss
The real tragedy isn't the drama between Amanda and Lizette. It’s the total failure of the Mexican justice system at the time.
The fact that Amanda de la Rosa was even allowed to stay in that room is a testament to how badly the scene was preserved. Whether she knew something or was just a bystander caught in a wealthy family's nightmare is something people still argue about over coffee in Mexico City.
The friendship between the two women was built on the high-society circles of the Estado de México. It was a world of privilege that thought it was untouchable. When the tragedy hit, that privilege turned into a cage. Amanda went from being the confidante to the woman who "wrote a book for profit."
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Moving Beyond the Scandal
If you're looking for a smoking gun, you won't find one. The case is closed legally, even if it's wide open in the minds of the public.
For those following the career of Amanda de la Rosa today, it's a lesson in reinvention. You can be the most hated woman in a country for a month and still find a way to make art ten years later. But the shadow of that bedroom in Huixquilucan is long.
Actionable Takeaways for True Crime Followers
- Question the "Official" Story: The Paulette case is the gold standard for why forensic protocols matter. If a scene isn't cordoned off immediately, the evidence is junk.
- Media Literacy: Watch how "characters" are built in real-time. Amanda was cast as the "sycophant friend" because it made for better TV, regardless of her actual involvement.
- Check the Sources: If you want the rawest version of her perspective, find a copy of her book. It's biased, sure, but it captures the claustrophobia of those nine days better than any news report.
The story of Amanda de la Rosa is essentially a story about the messy, sometimes ugly intersection of friendship and tragedy. She survived the investigation, but the "China" persona lives on in the archives of Mexican true crime.
To truly understand the nuances of the case, look into the forensic reports regarding the "re-enactment" video. It provides the most concrete evidence that the discovery of the body was, at the very least, manipulated for the cameras. You can also research the civil lawsuits that followed, as they reveal the financial and social breakdown of the families involved long after the headlines faded.