TX - Jacinto 'Jay' Torres Hernandez, 57, found murdered, Garland, 10 June 2016

[OkieGranny]

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article83943782.html

Jay Torres, a real estate agent and a freelancer for a Star-Telegram publication, was found dead in the back yard of a residence in the 4200 block of Mayflower Drive in Garland.

“I was going through some of his stuff, and I noticed where he was showing property on that street,” his son said Wednesday. “That’s the only reason I think he was in Garland.”

Someone who knew Hernandez found his body and called police, Garland police Lt. Pedro Barineau said. Hernandez, 57, had been shot in the upper body, he said.

http://www.fox4news.com/news/159937906-story

Jacinto immigrated to the U.S. decades ago as he followed his dream career. He succeeded in becoming an award-winning print reporter and photographer who covered stories affecting the Hispanic community.

Jacinto was also a real estate agent and investor. He was working with a partner to flip the house where his body was found...

Jacinto’s family said his real estate investment partner had become worried when Torres told him he was going there on Friday and then never responded to texts or calls over the weekend.

 

[Everyday Grace]

At the time of his death, according to a statement from La Estrella editor Juan Antonio Ramos, Torres was working on a story about recent Mexican immigrants working in the construction business. The Torres family has said that Garland police are looking into Torres' notebooks in an attempt to discover if his murder might be linked to his work as a journalist.

Garland Police announced Monday [June 27] that they were bringing in federal agencies — the FBI, U.S. Marshall’s Office and the U. S. Secret Service — to help with the ongoing investigation. So far, Garland Police Department Public Information Officer Pedro Barineau told the Observer on Wednesday, the department doesn't have anything new to report about the investigation.

http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/...b-related-would-be-a-stateside-rarity-8441058

Torres, who lived in Dallas, was likely in Garland to look at property in relation to his work in real estate. His business partner found his body on the back patio of a house that was for sale and open to prospective buyers*on Friday [June 10], according to news reports. His daughter [Aline Torres] told CPJ that he was considering investing in the house in order to resell it.

Aline Torres, who lived with him, said she believes that there could be a link between her father's journalism and his death. She told reporters at a press conference that he was working on a couple of sensitive stories on illegal immigration and human trafficking.

Gibrán Torres, the journalist's son, told CPJ that his father had asked about installing a security system on the house in the months before his death. He recalled his father mentioning both that he was investigating riskier stories and that he was worried about dealing with angry tenants as part of his real estate business.

https://cpj.org/2016/06/journalist-jay-torres-murdered-in-garland-texas.php

 

[Everyday Grace]

Torres, who lived in Dallas, was a frequent contributor for almost two decades to La Estrella, the Star-Telegram’s Spanish-language publication.

“His dedication, devotion and passion for journalism will always be remembered by all. He was a person who always focused on covering the Hispanic community in a full, objective and professional manner,” said Juan Antonio Ramos, executive editor of La Estrella.

“But his death also leaves a gap, a huge vacuum for the wonderful friendship that he always gave to so many people. His love for his family, his dedication to his work, his affection for his friends, that's something we will always have with us.”

He was a reporter and photographer for the publication, covering many aspects of life in the Hispanic community in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article83943782.html#storylink=cpy

 

[Everyday Grace]

Garland detectives are combing through both journalism and real estate records of slain reporter Jacinto “Jay” Hernandez Torres in the search for his killer, Garland police said this week.

Detectives confiscated reporter notebooks that were in his car when Torres was found shot to death June 13 in the backyard of a Garland residence, family members said. They also have provided Garland police with the names of more than 30 tenants who lived on property owned by Torres’ company, The Establishment Inc. in Dallas.

Police don’t believe Torres was robbed, because he wasn’t missing any items.

[His daughter] said he had been working on a story since October that she described as risky, but she said her father did not go into detail about it.

Torres also had to deal from time to time with angry tenants as part of his real estate business.

His son, Gibran Torres, said at least one of them had a long criminal history.

More:
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/mcclatchys-america/article85266117.html

 

[Everyday Grace]

Jay’s son, Gibran, believes members of his family have been followed.

The family thinks Jay’s death has something to do with his real estate business, rather than his work for Spanish newspaper La Estrella.

Garland police would not talk about the direction the investigation is going. But Gibran and the family's private investigator believe the killer knew Jay through his real estate dealings, especially after reviewing the backgrounds of tenants who were evicted.

"One of them had a pretty extensive criminal history,” Gibran said.

More:
http://www.fox4news.com/news/167065767-story

 

[OkieGranny]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/14/jay-torres-murder-texas-investigation

Garland police spokesman Lt Pedro Barineau said on Wednesday that the investigation is ongoing and detectives do not have any suspects. Federal agencies including the FBI are assisting with data recovery.