Frenchman found dead in Mexico: he would have been murdered for his wine

We know a little more about the circumstances of the death of a Frenchman whose body was found in Mexico City on Saturday.

According to the first elements of the investigation, he was killed while delivering bottles of grand cru wine, according to investigative evidence revealed Sunday by the Mexican authorities.

Baptiste Lormand, 45, who also had Mexican nationality, was the owner of Surtidora Don Batiz, a restaurant in Polanco, an upscale neighborhood near the city center where many foreigners, businessmen, diplomats and journalists live and which swarms trendy bars, shops and luxury cars.

His body and that of his Mexican partner were discovered at 2 a.m. local time on Saturday morning in the south of the city on a dirt road in the municipality of Tlapan, his hands tied behind his back.

Traces of blood were visible on the skull as well as multiple bruises all over the body.

Missing since Friday

"Apparently, the two men were stripped of bottles of wine of great market value," the city's security secretary, Omar Garcia Harfuch, told a press conference on Sunday.

The latter stresses that at this stage of the investigation, opened on Friday with the publication of a search notice, there is no indication that the two men were kidnapped or kidnapped.

According to him, Baptiste Lormand, a solid fellow of 1.92 m and 93 kg, had been reported missing on Friday, November 27.

"Thanks to the surveillance cameras, we know that he was last seen on November 26 leaving his home in Polanco, alone in his car, a black Mitsubishi, heading for Tlalpan", specifies Omar Garcia Harfuch .

"Once the Mitsubishi reached the area, another vehicle was spotted by surveillance cameras, white, driven by its Mexican partner."

Employees of the victim's restaurant paid tribute to him this weekend.

AFP / PATRICK ANIDJAR  

“On Saturday November 29 at two in the morning, the two lifeless bodies were found.

One of them has clearly been identified as being that of the Franco-Mexican, ”adds Omar Garcia Harfuch.

They delivered themselves in order to reduce costs

The spokesman for the Attorney General of Mexico City, Ulises Lara Lopez, argued during a press briefing that the two partners had stopped using the services of couriers "in order to reduce the high costs of transport due to the Covid-19 pandemic ”.

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“Everything suggests that we wanted their merchandise.

This is one of the main leads that investigators follow, ”added the spokesperson.

Authorities were unable to determine the total value of the wine that was stolen.

They argued that this is not the first time that this modus operandi has been applied in the context of the sale of alcoholic beverages in Mexico City, at the time of the transaction.

"These killings are of great concern to us," Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum told a press conference.

I called the ambassador (

) to express our solidarity to him, to assure him that we are doing everything to bring the investigation to its conclusion and do justice ”.

Claudia Sheinbaum clarified that she wanted to address the media "in order to avoid the spread of false news" around this assassination.

Monday morning, she plans to go to Polanco to speak to traders and restaurateurs in this upscale neighborhood.

A march is planned there for Monday to protest against the renewed violence in Mexico City.

On social networks, French people living in Mexico were moved by the death of Baptiste Lormand.

An altar composed of white flowers and candles was erected in front of the facade of his restaurant, where curious people crowded on Sunday taking photos and making the sign of the cross.

🇫🇷 # México YA BASTA❗️

«SE CONVOCA A TODOS ESTE LUNES 11/30 👉A LAS 3:00 PM IN LA GLORIETA DE ARQUIMEDES IN MASARYK HACIA EL RESTAURANTE SURTIDORA DON BATIZ IN CALLE JULIO VERNE 93👉A LA MARCHA BLANCA PACFICA IN MEMORY BY BAPTISTE LORMAND Y BY LUIS OROZCO!

»#RIP 🙏🕯 # France pic.twitter.com/ZU5ttfhi84

- Europe @ Mexico🇪🇺🇲🇽🇫🇷🌍 (@EuropeMex) November 29, 2020