Ecuadoran journalist Luis Arnoldo "Noro" Ruiz was found dead with a gun shot wound to the head on Monday, Sept. 3, in the coastal tourist city of Playas, Guayas, reported the newspaper El Universo. According to the newspaper, police said rigor mortis suggested the journalist was killed on Sunday, Sept. 2.
Noro Ruiz's family reported that the journalist was with them during the weekend but they had heard nothing from him since Tuesday, reported the website Expreso. The website said the family started to search for him in hospitals and morgues in Guayaquil and Playas, where his body was found. The corpse remained unidentified until Thursday, Sept. 6.
According to El Comercio, a funeral was held for the journalist in his hometown, Salitre, on Friday, Sept. 7. While there are no known motives for the crime, Playas Prosecutor Xavier Espinoza opened a preliminary investigation into the killing of Noro Ruiz, reported the newspaper.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
