The body of a Guerrero journalist was found in the trunk of a car on Tuesday night in Morelos, bringing the number of reporters who have lost their lives in Mexico this year to seven.

Rogelio Barragán, 47, was the publisher of the digital news service Guerrero al instante.

The Morelos Attorney General’s Office reported that authorities responded to reports of an abandoned vehicle in the municipality of Zacatepec and discovered the journalist’s body. Neighbors told police that the car had been left there on Monday night.

Police said the victim showed signs of blunt trauma to the face and a head injury.

According to one report, fellow Guerrero journalists said that Barragán had fled his home in Chilpancingo to stay with relatives in Morelos because of a threat he had received, but was intercepted en route.

But Israel Díaz Acosta, a colleague at Guerrero al instante, said he was unaware of any threats and that Barragán frequently visited family in Morelos.

Balbina Flores, a spokesperson for the international NGO Reporters Without Borders, said the organization would launch its own investigation to determine if the journalist’s death was linked to his work.

“He had more than 10 years of journalistic experience, mostly in the nota roja [crime coverage].”

Source: El Universal (sp), CNN (sp)