A migrant worker has been charged with first-degree murder after a Guatemalan man’s body was discovered in a farmer’s field.
The victim has been identified as 35-year-old father of three, Luis Gabriel Cahuec Moran.
Moran was a temporary foreign worker who had travelled to work in Wilmot Township to support his family back home.
33-year-old Alex Lopez Noriega has been arrested by local police and charged as the main suspect in the crime.
“It is heartbreaking,” a friend of Moran, Byron Cruz, told CTV News.
“The first reaction from his wife was, ‘I want Luis back. Could you please reassure me that Luis will be back as soon as possible. We want his body.’”
For the time being, Moran’s body is being held as evidence until further inquiries are made into the killing.
According to police sources, authorities were called to Erbs Rd. and Notre Dame Dr. after a body was found. Upon arrival, officers found that Moran had suffered “significant head trauma.”
Detectives working on the case claim that the pair had known each other before the incident.
Noriega was arrested by police in downtown Kitchener and initially charged with second-degree murder but the charges were later changed.
“Evidence was gathered which led investigators to upgrade the charge to first-degree murder,” police spokesperson Ashley Dietrich told the Toronto Sun.
