Police in Mexico are investigating
the death of a journalist in the eastern state of Veracruz.
Regina Martinez was found in her home in Xalapa on Saturday, apparently
beaten and strangled to death.
She reported on crime for the weekly news magazine Proceso.
Pressure groups say Mexico is one of the most dangerous places in the world
to be a journalist, with more than 40 journalists killed or disappeared since
President Felipe Calderon took office.
Police had found Ms Martinez's body in the bathroom of her house after being
alerted by neighbours who had noticed the main entrance door had been left open
all day.
Rise in killings
State prosecutors said her body showed signs of heavy "blows to her face and
body".
A spokeswoman for the Veracruz government said all lines of investigation
would be exhausted, and that "the fact that she was a journalist is one of
them".
Ms Martinez had been working for investigative news magazine Proceso for 10
years.
Before that, she had worked for local newspapers in the Veracruz region.
Veracruz Governor Javier Duarte has ordered an exhaustive investigation into
Ms Martinez's death.
The state has seen a rise in killings in recent months.
Much of the violence has been blamed on a battle for control of
drug-trafficking routes between two of Mexico's most powerful drugs gangs - the
Zetas and the Gulf Cartel.
Dozens of journalists have been killed in Mexico over the past decade, but
there are conflicting data on how many of them were killed as a direct result of
their profession.
Pressure groups agree that whatever the exact figures, Mexico has become one
of the most dangerous countries for journalists in the world.