The narrative in this story did get confusing. But there is a purpose to it: the story of Mrs. Rodríguez took place around 2014-2017, whereas Luciano Garza's was July of this year. It's rare that the news department (i.e. as opposed to the New York Times Magazine) will run a feature closely detailing a years-old event, not without an obvious hook to why the story is being told now. Likewise, Luciano's kidnapping and murder, sadly, wouldn't merit such an indepth feature without an obvious tie to broader events.

Writing about both murders in this article made sense, IMHO, even if the transitions between narratives weren't always completely clear. Part of the reporter's angle was that Mrs. Rodríguez's highly publicized fight impacted how people reacted to Luciano's kidnapping, for better or worse.