Man arrested in Mexico in Cincinnati-area slayings

AP ^ | 5:08 am | Wednesday, April 22, 2009 | TERRY KINNEY

[TSgt]

CINCINNATI (AP) — Authorities in Mexico have arrested a man in the slayings of four Mexican construction workers who had been beaten and methodically stabbed in the heart at the Ohio apartment they shared, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

Santiago Moreno, 34, was arrested Sunday in Tampico, 335 miles northeast of Mexico City, and will be tried there, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said. "We know we have the right guy," Deters said. "He was a suspect right out of the gate."

The decomposing bodies of four illegal immigrants, Moreno's roommates, were found in their apartment in suburban Sharonville after they had not reported to work for several days. "If you overlay the autopsy photos, they're almost identical," Deters said of the men's injuries.

Hamilton County Coroner O'dell Owens identified the victims as brothers Manuel Davila Duenas, 31, and Jose de Jesus Davila Duenas, 21; Lino Guardado Davila, 45; and Manuel Lopez Guardado, 21, also identified by Mexican authorities as Conrado Lopez Guardado.

Authorities immediately suspected Moreno, who had bought a bus ticket to Mexico more than a week before the bodies were found. Authorities believe he killed his roommates to steal their money.

Mexican authorities had been watching Moreno for some time and when the paperwork was completed, arrested him in Tampico, where he had been working as a fisherman, Deters said.

Moreno and the four men who were killed had been bricklayers and stonemasons for the same company, ABC Precision Masonry in Mason, north of Cincinnati.

"They did it leaving behind their home in Mexico," Deters continued. "I would challenge people to think, would you be willing to leave this country and go to Mexico if the role was reversed?""These guys were brave," Deters said.

[TSgt]

Joe Deters is Hamilton County's (Cincinnati) Republican Prosecutor.

"These guys worked their tails off," Deters said. "They didn't drink. They showed up for work on time and they worked like crazy. They did it leaving behind their home in Mexico," Deters continued. "I would challenge people to think, would you be willing to leave this country and go to Mexico if the role was reversed? These guys were brave," Deters said."

Brave? They were here illegally Joe! And so was the guy that killed them! Why aren't you prosecuting the company that employed them?

[ROCKLOBSTER]

I would challenge people to think, would you be willing to leave this country and go to Mexico if the role was reversed?

It happens all the time...only Americans work in foreign countries legally.

four Mexican construction workers

Looks like some badly needed construction-job openings in Ohio.

[Go Gordon]

Moreno and the four men who were killed had been bricklayers and stonemasons for the same company, ABC Precision Masonry in Mason, north of Cincinnati.

The owner of ABC Precision Masonry should be arrested, fined and jailed for awhile.

[mom4melody]

Before we moved to hell (Cleveland) we lived in Northern Ky across the river from Cincinnati. We had a new home built in 1998 by a regional developer (Drees). Our brick layers sucked - they left the site a mess and had to re-do the interior brick on the fireplace twice, talked like sailors and left bricks all over the yard (to be plowed under when they did the backfill).

About 6 months after we moved in a house was built across the street - the brick layers were hispanic and an older hispanic woman managed them. They were amazing - their work was excellent, they took not 1 extra minute for breaks and cleaned their equipment and stacked loose bricks EVERY night. They were also pleasant and didn’t cuss to high heaven like ours did.

I have no idea their legal/illegal status, but I sure hope this is not those guys.

[muggs]

but I sure hope this is not those guys

You shouldn't worry. With 100's of thousand illegals in the greater Cincinnati area, the odds of it being them is very slight.