Cycling tourists were robbed, murdered in Mexico, authorities say
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Friends of Holger Franz Hagenbusch and Krzysztof Chmielewski-Podroznik, cyclists who disappeared in the Mexican state of Chiapas, held a rally May 6 in San Cristobal de las Casas. (Rodrigo Pardo/EPA/Shuttestock)
Two European bicyclists found dead in a ravine in southern Mexico were robbed and murdered, authorities say, despite earlier claims they plunged to their deaths in an accident.
Prosecutor Luis Alberto Sanchez said the bodies of Krzystof Chmielewski, of Poland, and Holger Hagenbusch, of Germany, were found at the bottom of a cliff in Chiapas state, the BBC reported.
Chmielewski, 37, was shot in the head and found on April 26 about 130 feet below the road he’d been traveling on. Hagenbusch, 43, likely died from a head wound sustained during a beating and wasn’t discovered until May 4.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The announcement, on Friday, was the latest report to shock the crime-ridden country.
BODY OF MISSING GERMAN CYCLIST BELIEVED FOUND IN MEXICO
Last month, Mexican rapper Christian Omar Palma Gutierrez’ confessed to dissolving the bodies of three film students in acid at the behest of a drug cartel. On April 27, about 12,000 people gathered in Guadalajara to protest the murders of the three and the rise in crime.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Most of the victims have been young people. At least 15,516 people between the ages of 13 and 29 are officially missing.
Violent cartel-related murders continue to spike in the nation, which saw over 25,000 killings in 2017, setting an all time record.
In the case of the bike riders, authorities initially blamed the victims, saying they lost control and fell off the cliff. They also claimed there were no signs of foul play.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But after Hagenbusch’s brother went to Mexico to identify his sibling’s body, he learned Chmielewski “was decapitated and had a foot missing,” according to his Facebook post.
Loved ones demanded a deeper investigation.