On this day, Dec. 16, in 1998, Philip True, a reporter for the San Antonio Express-News, was found dead in a remote mountain range in Mexico.
True, 50, went hiking in the Sierra Madre to photograph and write about the Huichol Indians. A coroner's report indicated he had been strangled and dropped into a ravine.
Authorities arrested two Huichol Indians, who confessed to killing True because he had taken photographs without their permission. The journalist's belongings, including his camera, binoculars and backpack, were found at their homes.
True's two killers finally were convicted in 2004, but long beforehand, a judge had set them free and then joined the suspects and their legal team for a celebratory meal. The judge then fled.
The killers were freed on bond and never recaptured.
- Scott McCabe
