Sánchez, 31, a reporter for the Mexican news Web site Orizaba en Vivo, was found shot to death on the banks of the Blanco River near Mendoza in the southeastern state of Veracruz on November 30.
On November 28, Sánchez and three friends left his home in Orizaba, just east of Mendoza, said Rodolfo Mendoza, administrative director of Orizaba en Vivo. Local authorities found the journalist’s car abandoned the next day.
His body was found with two gunshots to the back of the head. Sánchez had bruises and stab wounds to the chest, a police source in Mendoza told CPJ. Nearby was the body of another man, César Martínez López, alias “El Pollo,” who had also been shot in the head, the source said.
The reporter’s family and colleagues did not know of any threats against Sánchez, who normally covered regional politics, Rodolfo Mendoza told CPJ. Two suspects were detained on December 4. Investigators said the men targeted Martínez because they thought he had stolen their truck, The Associated Press said.