Millán's body was found in a field in the state of Sinaloa on the outskirts of the state capital, Culiacán, with a gunshot wound in the head. He had been abducted a day earlier by men in two SUVs who intercepted him on his way to work.
Millán was the host of a show on Radio Fórmula and ran and wrote a column for the news website A Discusión. The violent Sinaloa cartel was dominant in the area, but local journalists said it was more likely that the journalist was murdered because of his coverage of local politics. Berzahi Osuna Enciso, a colleague at the radio station, told CPJ that Millán's killers would likely be found among his political enemies.
On September 2, Millán's family members submitted a CD to authorities that they said the journalist had left in a safe with instructions to publicize if anything happened to him, local press reports said. Investigators did not disclose the contents of the CD.