A woman and her partner have been burned to death by villagers after being accused of witchcraft.
Horrifying footage circulating online appears to show a crowd gathered as one of the victims is engulfed in flames.
State prosecutors have now opened a murder investigation into the double killing.
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The lynching took place in the indigenous hamlet of Las Tacitas in Chiapas State, Mexico, on Tuesday (22 Sep) night, as reported by Need To Know.
Local reports said the couple, who were members of the Maya Tseltal community, were dragged from their home and taken to a community hall.
Witnesses claimed they were held for several hours and beaten before fuel was poured over them and they were set alight.
Their bodies were later reportedly left covered beside a track outside the village.
Preliminary local reports identified the victims as a man named Nicolás, believed to be around 50, and a woman named Irma.
However, prosecutors have not formally confirmed their identities.
Local reports said Nicolás worked as a traditional healer and claimed accusations of witchcraft emerged after people who had sought his help became ill.
Another account claimed accusers blamed the couple following the death of a community official.
Authorities have not publicly confirmed those claims.
Indigenous District prosecutor Floralma Gómez Santos said officials had established contact with the victims’ families.
She said investigators would seek to establish how the attack began and identify those involved.
Chiapas Human Rights Commission president Horacio Culebro Borrayas said no rumour or community belief could justify torture or the taking of a life.
The Chiapas State Attorney General’s Office, through its Indigenous Justice Prosecutor’s Office, has opened an investigation into the deaths.
The state’s Human Rights Commission has also opened a complaint and called for an exhaustive and impartial investigation.
Authorities later gained access to the community following talks with local representatives but were reportedly unable to recover the victims’ remains.
Community officials reportedly decided the bodies would remain there and be buried locally rather than handed over for investigation.
Mexican newspaper El Universal has since reported that the female victim was pregnant, although this has not been confirmed by state authorities.
Mexico recorded 968 lynchings and attempted lynchings between 2020 and March 2024.
The investigation continues.
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