Netflix has released its latest true crime series today (August 25), titled A Kidnapping Scandal: The Florence Cassez Affair.
The highly-anticipated documentary series examines one of Mexico's most controversial true crime cases, which saw French national Florence Cassez convicted of helping her boyfriend run an infamous kidnapping ring.
Cassez denied the charges against her and has continued to maintain her innocence since her arrest in 2005.
The case divided people around the world. In France, many viewed Cassez as the victim of a corrupt Mexican justice system after the investigation saw a number of irregularities and a shocking staged arrest.
Meanwhile, Mexican people, who had been plagued by thousands of kidnapping cases every year, condemned Cassez.
As Netflix explores the controversial case, here's everything you need to know about who Florence Cassez is.
Who is Florence Cassez?
Florence Cassez is a French woman who was was accused of belonging to the Mexican kidnapping ring, Los Zodíacos, who had terrorised the Mexican people for years.
Florence travelled to Mexico in 2003 when she was 31 years old to visit her brother and sister in law and it was during this trip that she was introduced to Israel Vallarta by her brother, and the pair began dating.
Their relationship was reported to be problematic, with the New York Times saying: “The pair began a difficult relationship that alienated her friends, who sensed that he was in trouble.”
They briefly split, but in 2005 Florence made the permanent move to Mexico to live with Vallarta at his ranch near Mexico City.
But it wasn't long before Cassez's life was turned upside down when on December 8, 2005, she and her boyfriend were arrested by police while driving along the highway.
The couple were held by police, but in an extraordinary twist in the case they were taken back to their ranch almost 24 hours after the initial arrest and were forced to participate in a reenactment for live TV crew that were waiting for them.
The staged arrest saw the Mexican equivalent of the FBI raid their ranch and rescue three kidnapped people who were being held there.
How long was Florence Cassez sentenced to prison for?
Florence Cassez was accused of being a part of the infamous kidnapping ring Los Zodíacos, and after a closed door trial with no jury in 2007 she was convicted of kidnapping, organised crime, and the illegal possession of firearms.
Initially, Cassez was sentenced to 96 years in prison, but the sentence was later reduced to 60 years.
After her sentencing, French authorities called for the release of Cassez and two consecutive French presidents backed her case.
In 2013 Cassez was finally freed from prison after the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that her human rights had been violated.
There had been a number of issues in Cassez's case. Firstly, she was denied consular assistance for more than a day after her initial arrest, which was in breach of the Vienna Convention.
Then came the staged second arrest, which authorities later admitted to being faked for the purpose of news crews. It was ruled that the televised raid had influenced the presumption of innocence of Cassez for the witnesses who testified against her and the Mexican public.
Cassez had been convicted after three witnesses testified against her, but their testimonies had been inconsistent and two of the witnesses failed to identify her at first.
The Supreme Court voted 3-2 to free Cassez, but did not make a decision about whether she was guilty of the initial kidnapping charges against her.
Florence was released immediately and returned to France.
Following her release, she maintained in interviews that she knew nothing about the three hostages who had been held at the ranch that she was staying at with her boyfriend.
