HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — More than 28 days have passed since parts of a man’s body were found dumped off Route 10 in Chalan Pago, and detectives with the Guam Police Department are turning to the community to help solve the case.
“It is a homicide and there is a killer on the loose,” GPD Chief Stephen Ignacio said Friday during a press conference at the police headquarters in Tiyan. “This is how we work together and come together as a community to keep it safe. We are looking for any information and tips that may be helpful.”
An autopsy was performed earlier this month on the unidentified victim, who is believed to be between 18 and 40 years old.
The victim was found after first responders were called to a report of a trash fire in front of an abandoned structure in Chalan Pago on Jan. 29.
Police confirmed the killing did not occur at that location.
But investigators have had no luck finding leads that could help them determine how the man was murdered.
“We live in a small community and usually, in my experience, usually somebody would’ve come forward. We don’t know if this person may have been recent to Guam or came from a neighboring island,” he said. “The parts of the body we found were not sufficient enough to help us in the identification. Our basic identification consists of facial recognition, dental identification, handprints, and maybe other scars, marks or tattoos. We have come to a point where we don’t have those things available to us.”
With no break in the case, authorities decided to release sketches of two tattoos that were on the victim’s torso.
“The first (tattoo) says ‘strength, respect, loyalty’ — was in an inverted arch position on the upper torso. The second was a separate tribal tattoo located on the rear upper torso of the remains. Other information cannot be released at this time as it may affect the outcome of the investigation,” he said. “We have looked through all our missing persons cases; we have searched our local data bases on any person who may have similar tattoos. However, we have not been able to identify the body at this time.”
Ignacio said police also contacted federal law enforcement officials and are working with neighboring islands hoping to find more clues.
“It was clearly a homicide,” he said. “It’s hard to close a case when you don’t know who your victim is and you don’t know who his associates are.”
Investigators also plan to check local tattoo shops.
Anyone with information is asked to contact GPD dispatch at 671-475-8615/17.
Ignacio added that a separate homicide investigation involving the death of Patrick Ken Sakai is ongoing. Sakai, who was stabbed multiple times and suffered blunt force trauma, was found dead Jan. 23 at a ranch off Chalan Emsley in Yigo. No arrests have been made.
Guam Police Department Chief Stephen Ignacio holds up a sketch of a tattoo on a homicide victim during a press conference Friday.
The first tattoo on the unidentified victim’s body reads “Strength Respect Loyalty” as shown in a sketch.
The second tattoo on the unidentified victim’s body looks like this.
The scene in Chalan Pago where first responders found a body after extinguishing a trash fire on Jan. 29, 2022.
