News4’s Megan McGrath shares photos released by police who hope to identify a homicide victim.
As many as 10 members of the gang MS-13 stabbed a man more than 100 times in a Maryland park, ripped out his heart and buried him, officials say.
Court documents released Wednesday reveal gruesome details about the killing of a man officials in Montgomery County still have not been able to identify.
Miguel Angel Lopez-Abrego, 19, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
A ranking gang member told police Lopez-Abrego was the first person to stab the victim, court documents say.
The informant said that he, Lopez-Abrego and eight other MS-13 gang members lured the victim to Wheaton Regional Park this spring. For about two weeks, they planned how to get the man to go from the Annapolis area to Wheaton because they planned to kill him and dispose of his body, the informant told police.
Lopez-Abrego helped dig a grave for the victim and used a walkie-talkie to tell the other gang members when the victim had arrived, the informant told police.
Then, the gang members choked him, stabbed him more than 100 times, decapitated him and dismembered him, the informant said. They ripped his heart from his chest and threw it into the grave they dug for him.
On Sept. 5, the informant led detectives to the body. The man's remains were where the informant said they would be, and he had injuries consistent with the torture the informant described.
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Lopez-Abrego was found in North Carolina on Nov. 11 and arrested on a first-degree murder warrant. He has been extradited to Montgomery County.
Police are still working to identify the victim. In September, investigators released several photos of clothing and a rosary that were found with him.
The items included a rosary, a sweatshirt with a Methodist church logo and a pair of blue shorts. You can see the photos on the Montgomery County Police website.
Police say the victim was a Hispanic man who was about 5 feet 2 inches tall and 126 pounds. He had short, dark brown hair. He was missing a bottom tooth, and police believe he was living in the Annapolis area.
Anyone with information is asked to call 240-773-5070.
