Imprisoned Man Charged In SW Dade Murder Case
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Police said they have identified the shooter responsible for killing a young man whose body was found was discovered in a desolate and remote area of Southwest Miami-Dade.
The parents of 21-year-old Christian Joseph McKenzie said the last time they saw their son was on the morning of Thursday, November 14th. He had left the house in his 1993 Toyota Truck.
But McKenzie never returned home that night.
Instead, on that same evening, Miami-Dade Police found McKenzie's truck at the intersection of SW 232nd St and SW 187th Ave.
The next morning, police found his body near a canal at SW 408th St and SW 232nd Ave. – about 12 miles away from his parents' home.
Investigators said McKenzie had a gunshot wound in the upper torso.
According to Detective Richard Raphael, who was the lead on the case at the time, said the area where McKenzie's body was found was typically used for target practice by youngsters.
Raphael also said he also believed McKenzie went there with someone he knew and that the shooting was no accident.
McKenzie did have a concealed weapons permit, but authorities never recovered a weapon at the scene.
However, detectives got a break in the case on January 23rd, 2015. They were able to recover McKenzie's firearm. After turning it into the Crime Laboratory for examination, it was determined McKenzie was shot and killed with his own gun.
Detectives said between physical evidence and witness statements it led them to 21-year-old Juan Salgado.
Salgado was already incarcerated for unrelated charges, but will now have the new charges added on. Those charges include: second-degree murder with a deadly weapon, third-degree grand theft, third-degree grand theft with a firearm and third-degree grand theft with a vehicle.
