A well-known journalist has been found dead at his home in Mexico after receiving a brand new car from a mysterious benefactor.
Online reporter Pedro Damian Gomez produced a social media show called Political Panorama which covered topical news stories and political interviews.
He was found dead in his bedroom on 13th February. He lived in the Lomas de la Amistad area of Tijuana in the Mexican state of Baja California.
Local media initially reported that the journalist was killed by a violent attacker and had suffered fatal wounds from “a sharp weapon”, but the state attorney general’s office has released a statement saying this is false.
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A spokesperson said: “Neighbours informed the authorities after they noticed a foul smell coming from the reporter’s home.”
Officials found Gomez lying on his bed and calculated that he had died approximately seven to ten days prior to his body’s discovery.
Neighbours also told police that they had not seen the journalist for about two weeks.
Gomez’s home did not show any indication of violence, and the authorities are waiting for the autopsy results to determine the cause of death.
Gomez posted a curious message on his social media account on 2 February saying that brand new car had been left outside his home, with keys and documentation in his name.
However, he did not know who it came from or for what particular reason.
The very last post on his social media portal was sent the following day.
Police are investigating possible links between the generous gift and his subsequent death.
Press freedom group Reporters Without Borders has condemned the “appalling level of impunity” in Mexico, where it claims there has been at least 21 unsolved disappearances of journalists since 2000.
According to Mexico’s National Commission for Human Rights, at least eight of the 21 journalists have been missing for more than ten years.
Mexico is ranked 147th out of 180 in RSF’s World Press Freedom Index.
Picture: CEN
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