Home / Crime and Justice / Priest's Body Discovered Bound in Tultepec Canal, Sparking Murder Investigation
Priest's Body Discovered Bound in Tultepec Canal, Sparking Murder Investigation
13 Nov, 2025
Summary
- Reverend Ernesto Baltazar Hernández Vilchis, 40, found dead in drainage canal
- Body wrapped in plastic and tied to a chair
- Priests sometimes targeted by cartels in Mexico
On October 27, Reverend Ernesto Baltazar Hernández Vilchis, a 40-year-old priest, vanished without a trace in Tultepec, just north of Mexico City. Two weeks later, on November 9, his remains were found in a drainage canal close to the Felipe Ángeles International Airport.
Search and rescue teams had been combing the area, and the body was discovered in an advanced state of decay. Forensic analysis later confirmed the remains belonged to Rev. Vilchis. The body had been wrapped in black bags and then tied to an armchair before becoming stuck in a small mound of earth in the canal.
The murder of Rev. Vilchis is the latest in a series of attacks on priests in Mexico. According to the Catholic Multimedia Centre, 10 priests were killed in the country between 2019 and 2024. Priests have sometimes been targeted by powerful criminal cartels operating in the region. Authorities have vowed to investigate the case and apprehend those responsible for this brutal killing.
