EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Court documents obtained by KTSM show that the man who is accused of shooting and killing a 19-year-old and leaving his body in a canal in El Paso’s Lower Valley lived with the victim and did not get along with him.
Family demands justice after 19-year-old found dead in canal
Court documents state that just before 8 a.m. on Tuesday, March 3, El Paso police responded to a canal near 7501 Green Valley in reference to an unknown problem.
A witness who was walking her dog in the canal told 911 dispatch that a man, who was later identified as 32-year-old Benjamin Jacob Perez, told her that her dog was biting/eating something and told her, ” I think it’s a body.”
The witness also told dispatch that Perez wanted nothing to do with the situation and left the area.
Man charged with murder in El Paso canal death case
Police then responded to the canal and found 19-year-old Rogelio Suarez’s body with “suspicious injuries.” He was located face down, partially wrapped and covered with a plastic tarp, and his sweater was torn in several places, which indicated there was a possible struggle, according to court documents.
Investigators searched the surrounding area and found several grocery bags inside a storm drain tunnel near Suarez’s body. The grocery bags had blood smeared on them, according to court documents…