The headline reads: "Italian Mafia In Slovakia; Its Tentacles Reach As Far As Politics".

It sits at the top of Jan Kuciak's final, unfinished article, published at midnight not just on his own news site - aktuality.sk - but, symbolically, by a number of others.

The young investigative reporter and his fiancée Martina Kusnirova were found shot dead in their home on Sunday; the first killing of a journalist in Slovakia's history.

The attack, which police say bears all the hallmarks of a contract killing, has left the country reeling.

Kuciak's last article - published posthumously - alleges links between the Italian mafia and figures close to the Prime Minister, Robert Fico.

His byline is accompanied by a small colour photograph of the author. A larger, black-and-white version of the same image - this one propped up against a wall, surrounded by candles and flowers - tops the page.

Kuciak alleges that Italian businessmen with ties to the feared Calabrian organised crime syndicate the 'Ndrangheta have settled in eastern Slovakia, and have spent years embezzling EU funds for this relatively poor region on the border with Ukraine.

These men, he alleges, have cultivated business links with senior officials, including people close to the prime minister. One, a former glamour model named Maria Troskova, was until Wednesday the prime minister's "chief state adviser". Another, Ms Troskova's former boss Viliam Jasan, had chaired Slovakia's national security council.

The two said in a joint statement that they would step down from their roles in government with immediate effect until the case had been investigated. They said attempts "by some politicians and the media to link our names to these repellent crimes" were unacceptable. They were stepping down so their names could not be used in a political battle against Mr Fico, they added.

The Minister of Culture Marek Madaric, a member of Mr Fico's SMER party, has also resigned, saying he felt it was his only choice as a minister in the wake of the killings.

At the time of writing, Mr Fico's office had not responded to the BBC's request for comment. But at Tuesday's surreal press conference, speaking by a table laden with a million euros in cash - the government's reward for information on the murders - Mr Fico was adamant.

"Do not link innocent people without any evidence to a double homicide," Mr Fico told journalists.

"It's crossing the line. It's no longer funny," he went on, castigating the opposition and the media for using the tragedy to further their own ends.

Read more on bbc.com.