Regina Martinez – Status: Case Closed & No Charges Laid Against Perpetrator

Martínez Pérez, a journalist, was murdered on April 28, 2012, in her home in Xalapa, Veracruz. Her body was discovered on the bathroom floor, showing signs of severe beating and strangulation. Initial investigations considered various motives, including personal reasons, theft, and work-related retaliation. A dispute escalated into a violent attack, with the men beating her, submerging her head in a toilet, and using brass knuckles, which ultimately caused fatal injuries. Despite her efforts to defend herself, the attackers overpowered her. After the murder, they stole several valuables, including electronics and personal items, before fleeing.

Regina Martínez’s last work/words: Among her last publications before her murder was a political profile about Raynaldo Escobar Perez and Alejandro Montano, two politicians of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who were running for office in Congress. A week before her murder she had also written about an incident in which the Mexican Navy arrested nine policemenrt in the state who were allegedly wokig for a drug trafficking organization, the arrest of a high-profile leader of Los Zetas drug cartel known as Comandante Chaparro, and a story involving mayor Martin Padua Zuniga from National Action Party (PAN) who was arrested with drug traffickers following a gunfight with the Mexican Army.

Journalist Information:

Name: Regina Martinez

Age: 48

Gender: Female

DOB: 07/09/1963

Nationality: Mexican

Last company worked for: Proseco

Incident Information:

Date of incident – 08 April 2012

Location of incident – Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

Offense victim of: Assassination

Weapons included – Beaten & Strangled

Suspect(s) Information:

Perpetrator Identified: Yes

Name: Jorge Antonio Hernandez Silva

Proof of Targeting the Journalist: “I know they’re going to kill me,” Regina Martinbesz told a friend’s relative in 2012. Already that year, eight other journalists had been murdered in her home state of Veracruz, Mexico. Her colleagues offered to move her to another house to protect her, but she declined. “I’m not afraid of them,” she said, including a string of profanities. Regina carried on reporting despite constant threats. But she knew what she was risking: she hadn’t been out at night for years, and in the week before her murder.

Reason for Killing: Early in the morning of 28 April 2012, Martinez Perez was murdered inside her home in Xalapa after being severely beaten. A suspect was arrested in October 2012 and publicly confessed to the murder, while the Mexican authorities concluded that the motive of the murder was theft.

Progress of the Case: When Silva was arrested in October 2012, he confessed to the murder of Martinez Perez. Investigators and authorities in Veracruz concluded that the journalist was killed during a robbery. When placed before a judge, Silva retracted his confession and stated that he had been tortured, held hostage for over a week, and threatened by Veracruz authorities to make him confess to the assassination. Silva said the officials had threatened to kill his mother, his last remaining family member.

Read More: https://ipi.media/justice-for-mexican-journalist-regina-martinez/