As Garland police investigate the killing of a North Texas freelance journalist, the family of Jacinto Torres Hernandez, also known as Jay Torres, is planning a funeral and wondering if his work had something to do with his murder.
Torres, 57, was a freelance reporter, a real estate agent and a photographer.
His family described him as a humanitarian who loved people, and they don't understand why someone would kill him.
His body was found Monday evening in the backyard of a house on the 4200 block of Mayflower Drive.
The Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office said he died from a gunshot wound, and police said it appeared that his body had been there for days.
Torres frequently contributed to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Spanish-language publication La Estrella.
Karina Ramirez, who works at a competing Spanish-language publication, was a friend.
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"We can be friendly and competitive at the same time," Ramirez said.
What friends, and police, don't know is why Torres was killed.
"I hear about people getting killed for the paper in their wallet, (but) they didn't even take that," said son Gibran Torres.
If robbery wasn't the motive, his family wonders if it was something he was writing.
"I would also hope that his colleagues would get to the bottom of the story he was working on, that they would finish his work," Gibran Torres said.
Now his family is finishing funeral arrangements and taking a trip down memory lane, wishing Jay Torres was here to see how much his life meant.
No arrests have been made, and Garland police ask anyone with information to call Garland Crime Stoppers at 972-272-8477.
The memorial service for Jay Torres is Saturday at Greenwood Funeral Home in Arlington.
