US

Police: MS-13 Members Decapitated, Cut Heart Out Of Maryland Victim

MARVIN RECINOS/AFP/Getty Images

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Will Racke Immigration and Foreign Policy Reporter
Font Size:

Gruesome details emerged Wednesday about the gang murder of a Maryland man who was stabbed to death and dismembered by as many as 10 MS-13 members.

Montgomery County officials said the MS-13 members lured the unidentified man into a park in Wheaton, Md., and stabbed him more than 100 times. Before dumping the body into a pre-dug grave, they cut off his head and “excised” his heart from his chest, according to court records.

The disturbing revelations came during first appearance of one of the alleged attackers, Miguel “Timido” Angel Lopez-Abrego, in Montgomery County court. The 19-year-old El Salvadoran national was arrested earlier this month in North Carolina, along with two other alleged MS-13 members from the Washington, D.C., area, reports the Washington Post.

The Wheaton killing, which authorities learned of in September, is just the latest in a series of grisly murders in Montgomery County and the surrounding area that police and prosecutors say is the work of MS-13. Officials say the notoriously violent gang is responsible for at least three other recent murders in the D.C. area, including two involving attacks with knives and machetes.

Lopez-Abrego is illegally in the U.S. and currently in immigration proceedings, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. MS-13 has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years, partly by recruiting illegal immigrants from Central American countries, who entered as unaccompanied minors in the waning years of the Obama administration.

Because it is has so many criminal alien members with a penchant for carrying out gruesome murders, MS-13 has become a favorite target of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. (RELATED: ICE Nabs More Than 200 MS-13 Members In Nationwide Anti-Gang Operation)

Police have released few details about the unidentified victim, other than to say they believe he could be from the Annapolis area, according to the Annapolis Capital Gazette. They describe the man as a Hispanic, approximately 5 feet, 2 inches and about 125 pounds.

Investigators were first alerted to the murder by an informant, who directed the to the location of the grave and the remains. Police believe the man was killed as many as 11 months ago, reports Bethesda Magazine.

Follow Will on Twitter

Send tips to will@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.