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MEXICO CITY (AP) -- A Mexican federal official says forensic investigators have exhumed the body of a relative of a feared drug-cartel leader in order to conduct DNA tests meant to quiet doubts that Zetas head Heriberto Lazcano was slain this month.

Lazcano's body was stolen about 12 hours after he was shot by Mexican marines on Oct. 7, causing public skepticism that he was killed.

Authorities say fingerprints taken before the theft prove he was slain, but they want DNA to address lingering questions.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic, declined to specify which relative was exhumed from a cemetery outside the city of Pachuca in the central state of Hidalgo.

Authorities said last week they were seeking permission to exhume Lazcano's parents.

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