A trial has commenced for a Chelsea resident accused of fatally stabbing his roommate and concealing the body in a trash barrel during January 2010. The victim, 50-year-old Israel Vasquez, died from stab wounds sustained during an altercation with his 24-year-old roommate, who subsequently placed his body in a trash can and moved it approximately one block from where the stabbing occurred. The following morning, the remains were located by members of the public. Marvin Ruano-Garcia, 25, of Chelsea, was taken into custody after allegedly confessing to State Police homicide detectives that he inflicted the fatal wounds during a dispute in the Grove Street apartment where both men lived. According to prosecutors, a civilian witness reported hearing two women cry out and observed a man’s lower body extending from a plastic trash barrel positioned near 122-124 Grove St. This witness consulted with a nearby resident, who contacted an off-duty Chelsea Police officer she knew. State Police homicide detectives working with Suffolk DA Daniel F. Conley’s office were subsequently alerted, along with Chelsea Police. Officers from both departments arrived at the scene, collected evidence, and conducted numerous interviews that eventually directed their attention to 96 Grove St., first floor. A blood trail connected that residence to the trash barrel location, while investigators discovered blood on the building’s rear door landing, rear doorway, nearby fence, and on a mop found in a small trashcan outside the building. Vasquez maintained a residence at 96 Grove St., as did Ruano-Garcia, regarding whom police had received damaging information from community members who reported that Ruano-Garcia had made damaging statements concerning Vasquez’s death. Before participating in a recorded interview, Ruano-Garcia was informed of his Miranda rights in both English and Spanish. “The defendant later spoke voluntarily with police investigators,” said prosecutors. “The defendant made numerous contradictory and, eventually, incriminating statements about his role in the killing …. During the course of the interview, the defendant stated that he got into an argument with one of his roommates whose name he did not know, but who was later identified as Israel Vasquez over some items that he believed were taken from his room, as well as feelings that Vasquez had for his girlfriend. The defendant further stated that after Vasquez entered his room wielding a knife, a struggle ensued leading to the stabbing death of Vasquez.” Following the interview and after corroborating its contents with other evidence collected by investigators, Suffolk prosecutors obtained a warrant to charge Ruano-Garcia with murder.
Trial Begins for Chelsea Man Accused of Murder
