| 1 | MEXICO CITY - Investigators began interviewing more top officials in the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz on Tuesday about the recent killing of a photojournalist, an activist and three other women in the Mexican capital. |
| 2 | Mexico City prosecutors said they have requested statements from the current and former Veracruz public security secretaries as well as the head of a state commission responsible for protecting journalists. |
| 3 | The commission said in a separate statement that its chief met with investigators Tuesday. |
| 4 | There was no information on when the other two officials would testify, but prosecutors said the investigators would be in the state for several days. |
| 5 | Veracruz Gov. Javier Duarte has also been interviewed about the killings and denied involvement. |
| 6 | Ruben Espinosa was a photographer who fled the state to seek refuge in Mexico City after receiving threats. |
| 7 | His friend and activist Nadia Vera was an outspoken critic of the Veracruz government. |
| 8 | Both were found dead late last month along with the three other victims in an apartment in a middle-class Mexico City neighborhood. |
| 9 | Family members and groups defending freedom of expression have urged investigators to determine whether they may have been killed because of their work. |
| 10 | Thirteen journalists have been killed in Veracruz since Duarte took office in 2010 and three more have disappeared. |
| 11 | One suspect has been arrested in the Mexico City case, based on a fingerprint found in the apartment. |