Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Man Charged with Murder of 4 Illegal Immigrants
More than a year ago, on Dec. 13, 2007, authorities found four illegal immigrants beaten and stabbed to death in their apartment in Sharonville, OH, a Cincinnati suburb, after they hadn't reported to work for a week. It took a week to identify the men because there no identification for any of them.
Robbery was considered an unlikely motive. Some implied it may have been a hate crime with comments such as "we must work to ensure that all lives are valued, regardless of race, language or immigration status."
A year later and still no arrest, family members reportedly complained "the deaths are being ignored because the men were undocumented workers." But "Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said, "The magnitude and the gravity of the crimes are of such a nature that we will never stop working on this."
Yesterday, police arrested the man they believe responsible. It turns out robbery probably motivated the murders. "He is thought to have stolen tens of thousands of dollars from them."
Also, the "arrest Sunday also should end speculation in the Mexican media that the men were victims of a hate crime..." You see, the murderer was Santiago Moreno, 34. He was arrested in Mexico by Mexican authorities after joint investigative efforts by the Sharonville Police Department, Hamilton County Prosecutor's office, FBI and Mexican authorities. Authorities kept quiet in order to not tip off Moreno that they were hunting him.
I applaud the efforts of all law enforcement agencies. (Having watched Joe Deters in action for many years, I can attest that he is one class act and criminals should fear him.) I scold those who jumped to the assumption of a hate crime or that no one cared because the victims were illegal aliens. Authorities tracked this villain across half a continent and through two countries. Yes, they cared. And, while we may oppose illegal immigration, we believe all human life is valuable.
Robbery was considered an unlikely motive. Some implied it may have been a hate crime with comments such as "we must work to ensure that all lives are valued, regardless of race, language or immigration status."
A year later and still no arrest, family members reportedly complained "the deaths are being ignored because the men were undocumented workers." But "Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said, "The magnitude and the gravity of the crimes are of such a nature that we will never stop working on this."
Yesterday, police arrested the man they believe responsible. It turns out robbery probably motivated the murders. "He is thought to have stolen tens of thousands of dollars from them."
Also, the "arrest Sunday also should end speculation in the Mexican media that the men were victims of a hate crime..." You see, the murderer was Santiago Moreno, 34. He was arrested in Mexico by Mexican authorities after joint investigative efforts by the Sharonville Police Department, Hamilton County Prosecutor's office, FBI and Mexican authorities. Authorities kept quiet in order to not tip off Moreno that they were hunting him.
I applaud the efforts of all law enforcement agencies. (Having watched Joe Deters in action for many years, I can attest that he is one class act and criminals should fear him.) I scold those who jumped to the assumption of a hate crime or that no one cared because the victims were illegal aliens. Authorities tracked this villain across half a continent and through two countries. Yes, they cared. And, while we may oppose illegal immigration, we believe all human life is valuable.
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