Elias Villereal Zarate
Elias Villereal Zarate, a Mexican man, was held in the temporary jail at Weslaco, Texas. According to Mexicans who spoke with him through the jail window, eight men came to the jail on the night of November 9, 1922, drove off the people outside, broke the lock on the door and took him away in an automobile. His body was found the following Saturday morning on an abandoned road five miles from Weslaco, shot through the heart. The Mexican government made representations to the State Department, and Texas officials reportedly said they had received no request for an investigation.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. Mexican witnesses who spoke with him through the jail window say eight men broke the lock, drove off the people outside and took him in an automobile, and his body was later found shot through the heart.
Reported by: several Mexicans who were talking to Zarate through the window (witnesses); Mexican embassy.