This Mexican journalist has been found dead in a pool of blood in front of his home after being stabbed in his bathroom as attacks on reporters continue to increase in the country.
Journalist Jose Castillo was found dead on the pavement by his home in the city of Ciudad Obregon, in the north-western Mexican state of Sonora after being attacked in his bathroom.
Local media report that the emergency services were called by neighbours who found his body, and paramedics confirmed that Castillo was dead.
Preliminary reports from prosecutors state that Castillo was stabbed with a knife in the bathroom of his house. The reporter managed to leave his home to search for help but collapsed on the pavement and died minutes later.
Prosecutors report that neither the windows nor the doors to his home showed signs of forced entry.
Castillo worked for the Prioridad Maxima media outlet and was focused on criminal cases.
He becomes the fourth journalist killed in Sonora since 2018 and the 20th in the country since December 2018, when current President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took over.
The other three journalists killed in Sonora are Reynaldo Lopez, Santiago Barroso and Jorge Armenta. Armenta was killed in Ciudad Obregon on 16th May in an armed attack where two police officers died.
The National Commission of Human Rights condemned the murder of Castillo and asked the authorities to investigate the case.
The incident comes as journalist Alma Aguilar, who was a cultural reporter, was found dead in a motel in the municipality of Cajeme in suspicious circumstances.
Her boyfriend was also found dead and the authorities found she had died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Prosecutors say the pair had been breathing carbon monoxide for a long time from a vehicle with the engine running.
Milton Martinez, a journalist from the magazine Proceso (Process), claimed that her death was strange as the reporter had been beaten in the head and had suffered several injuries.
The investigations into both cases are ongoing and no arrests have been reported.
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Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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