U.S. man held in girlfriend's death in Mexico

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico -- A U.S. man is being held in the death of his American girlfriend in the Caribbean resort city of Playa del Carmen, Mexican authorities said Sunday.

The 59-year-old man was detained by federal police at the Cancun airport before he was to board a flight to Atlanta, according to the prosecutors' office in Quintana Roo state, where both Playa del Carmen and Cancun are located.

Under Mexican legal procedure, the office did not identify the man. It said only he faces a criminal homicide investigation in the death of the woman, with whom he was in a relationship.

The woman was found dead Wednesday in a condo the couple had rented, and a forensic examination concluded she died of asphyxia by strangulation.

The man was in police custody in Playa del Carmen.

Appearing before a judge Friday, he declined to make an official declaration in the case, and it was not clear whether he had a local attorney.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City confirmed the death in Playa del Carmen of an American citizen it identified as Tamra Turpin. It offered condolences and said it was providing consular assistance in the case.

The embassy said it was also aware of reports that a U.S. citizen had been detained, but referred further questions to Mexican authorities.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Turpin, 36, was from Union, Missouri, about 50 miles west of St. Louis.

The newspaper quoted family members as saying she had gone to Mexico on vacation with her boyfriend, a lawyer.