Blumhouse wins rights to New York Times story about mother who hunted her daughter's killers

Less than 10 days after the New York Times published an article about a Mexican mother who tracked down the cartel members who abducted and murdered her daughter, Blumhouse has scooped up the rights to the story. The production company emerged victorious in a bidding war that reportedly involved more than 16 companies.

The NYT piece, written by Azam Ahmed, recounts the story of Miriam Rodríguez, who helped imprison 10 members of the local cartel in the town of San Fernando before she was shot and killed in front of her home on Mother's Day 2017. Over three years, according to the story, Rodríguez singlehandedly "captured nearly every living member of the crew that had abducted her daughter for ransom, a rogues' gallery of criminals who tried to start new lives."

"She cut her hair, dyed it and disguised herself as a pollster, a health worker and an election official to get their names and addresses," the story reads. "She invented excuses to meet their families, unsuspecting grandmothers and cousins who gave her details, however small. She wrote everything down and stuffed it into her black computer bag, building her investigation and tracking them down, one by one."

It is currently unclear whether Blumhouse's adaptation will be for film or TV, but representatives for the company said in a press release that the creative team will involve "authentic voices to represent and honor Miriam Rodríguez and her family." Ahmed will also produce the project alongside Caitlin Roper, the Times' executive producer for scripted projects, and Blumhouse's Jason Blum.

The New York Times currently has several film and TV projects in development, including an adaptation of the paper's Pulitzer-winning 1619 Project to be produced by Oprah Winfrey. The company also recently produced the acclaimed documentary Time, Hulu and FX's The New York Times Presents, and Amazon's anthology series Modern Love.

Related content:

• Denzel Washington and Rami Malek are cops hunting a killer in The Little Things trailer
• New York Times reporters tell Stephen Colbert how Weinstein tried to derail #MeToo report
• If you love true crime, stream these shows and docs