It’s been one year and one week since a 21-year-old Burnaby resident was killed near the Lougheed SkyTrain station.
Marvin Benitez was found in a pedestrian underpass in cardiac arrest near Austin Road and Lougheed Highway around 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 6, 2014. Both paramedics and Burnaby RCMP responded to the incident. Benitez was taken to hospital but died shortly after his arrival, according to police.
Following his death, Burnaby RCMP called in the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, who took over the investigation.
Police reported Benitez’s death appeared to have been targeted but it was unlikely it was gang-related. This fact remains unchanged one year later, according to Sgt. Stephanie Ashton, spokesperson for B.C. RCMP’S homicide police.
Ashton said investigators are still trying to determine what led to Benitez’s death. At this time no new information is being released until a suspect – or suspects – has been found, including cause of death, which was never released.
“The big thing I would remind the public is, they may have seen something a year ago that they don’t even realize is important but it may be that key thing we need to move things forward. So any information, any thoughts, any thing that comes to mind from people that were in the area or may have information on what happened, we would love to hear from them,” Ashton said.
Anyone with information about this homicide is asked to contact the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team at the IHIT tipline at 1-877-551-4448 or by email at [email protected]. If you wish to remain anonymous, call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or leave a tip on their website at solvecrime.ca.
