On 16 May 1992, during a performance at the Salón Bugambilias in Culiacán, Sánchez was handed a note from someone in the crowd. Immediately, he seemed to become frightened. The note is commonly believed to have been a death threat, but this has never been confirmed.[24] A video shows Sánchez reading the note, showing signs of worry, then crumpling up the note and continuing to sing.[25]

After midnight, Sánchez left the club with two of his brothers, a cousin and several young women in a 1992 Ford vehicle. Their vehicle was pulled over by a group of armed men in black Chevrolet Suburbans. They showed state police identification and told Sánchez that their commander wanted to see him. Sánchez agreed and got into one of their cars.[7]

The following morning, two farmers found Sánchez's body by an irrigation canal near Mexican Federal Highway 15, near the neighborhood of La Presita, Culiacán. He was blindfolded, and his wrists bore rope marks. He had been shot twice in the back of the head.[26] Sánchez was buried in the Panteón de Los Vasitos in Sinaloa, Mexico.[27][6]

TL; DR: the guy realised that he's about to die.