The Attorney General's Office of the State of Mexico (FGJEM) reported that a judge has bound over for trial María Fernanda “N” and Brandon Jonathan “N” for their alleged participation in the homicide of priest Ernesto Baltazar Hernández Vilchis, who was reported missing on October 31 in the municipality of Tultitlán. Both will remain in preventive custody, and a three-month deadline was set for the investigation to close. According to the Attorney General, the complaint about the disappearance of the 43-year-old priest led to the opening of an investigation file and the implementation of search protocols. The Attorney General detailed that they spent several hours together, “consuming alcoholic and narcotic substances,” until at some point, Brandon Jonathan “N” allegedly assaulted the priest with an object, causing fatal injuries. Later, María Fernanda “N”, the alleged assailant's partner, arrived. The investigations established the alleged involvement of three individuals: Brandon Jonathan “N”, Fátima Isabel “N”, and María Fernanda “N”, who also face charges for enforced disappearance by private individuals. According to the investigation, on October 29, the victim left his home heading to a property in the Unidad Habitacional Morelos, Third Section, in Tultitlán, accompanied by Fátima Isabel “N”, a person with whom he had a trusting relationship. Brandon Jonathan “N” was already at the location. The authority also stated that in the case, “the intent (dolo) is accredited as the generic subjective element in the conduct deployed by the aggressors.” Aggravated homicide in the State of Mexico can carry sentences of up to 70 years in prison, in accordance with articles 241, 242, and 245 of the local Penal Code. According to the ministerial authority, the three would have carried out acts to hide the body, using blankets and bags tied to a sofa before moving it to the municipality of Nextlalpan, where it was abandoned on October 30 in a black water river. During a search conducted on November 9 at the aforementioned residence, authorized by the judicial authority, various pieces of evidence were found, including clothing and belongings of the victim, a priest's stole, sharp and blunt objects, as well as blood traces detected with the “blue star” test.
Based on the evidence, the judicial authority considered that “both the probable intervention and the conduct deployed by the active agents, that is, Brandon Jonathan and María Fernanda ‘N’, to carry out the criminal act and, as a result, produce the victim's death and the assistance in hiding the body, are accredited,” in addition to “the criminal fact of aggravated homicide is legally accredited.” The Attorney General stated that Brandon Jonathan “N”, with the knowledge of Fátima Isabel “N”, would have physically assaulted the priest until causing his death, while María Fernanda “N” would have assisted in subsequent actions to hide and destroy evidence, including cleaning the scene and eliminating traces. In turn, the crime of enforced disappearance by private individuals, provided for in article 34 of the General Law on Forced Disappearance and Related Matters, can be punished with up to 50 years in prison.
