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Died in jail or a lockup

Elias Villareal Zarate

died November 11, 1922 · Weslaco Temporary Jail, Hidalgo County, Texas

Elias Villareal Zarate, a Mexican man, was held in the temporary jail at Weslaco, Texas, in November 1922. According to Mexicans who spoke with him through the window, eight men came to the jail on the night of November 9, drove off the people outside, broke the lock on the door and put him into an automobile. His body was found the following Saturday morning on an abandoned road five miles from Weslaco, and reports said he had been shot through the heart. The Mexican embassy protested to the State Department and asked for guarantees for the Mexican consul in Hidalgo, Texas, whose life it said was threatened, and Texas officials said they had received no request for an investigation.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched (disputed). Mexican witnesses who spoke with him through the jail window say eight men drove off the people outside, broke the door lock and took him in an automobile, and the Mexican embassy protested to the State Department; Texas officials said they had received no request for an investigation, and the State Department had no official report.

Reported by: Mexican embassy; several Mexicans who were talking to Zarate through the window (witnesses); Associated Press, citing unconfirmed reports (reporters); Texas officials (the agency that held him).

Sources (7)

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