Kyle Pietz was found guilty of the death of Eduardo Balaquit

He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

The Court of Queen’s Bench ordered the return of Mr. Pietz in custody. The verdict against him will be determined later by the court.

The victim Eduardo Balaquit, father and son, went missing 4 years ago on June 4, 2018. He was last seen leaving his home to go to his job as a night janitor. His body was never found.

Lots of emotions for the family

We went back every moment of disappearance during the trial, explains Edward Balaquit, the son of the missing.

The word difficult is not enough to describe our trajectory, but we need to do it.

” Fortunately, the person responsible for the crimes against my father was found guilty. “

Eduardo Balaquit’s son regrets, however, that it was not disclosed at the trial where his father’s body was placed. We thought that the evidence would let us know where my father was or that this man would finally tell us where he was. He did not give us this information we needed.

Financial problems behind the murder

Mr. Balaquit worked at the same company as Kyle Pietz in northwest Winnipeg.

Crown prosecutors defended that Pietz killed Balaquit in an act of financial desperation.

They told the jury that he was desperate for money because he was unemployed, in debt and owed his creditors large amounts of money. On the last day Eduardo Balaquit was found alive, Kyle Pietz called from the lenders.

The finances of Mr. Pietz pushed him into his former workplace because it was an easy target, prosecutor Brent Davidson argued during his closing argument.

His vehicle was found near the building and in the parking lot at the same time as Mr. Balaquit’s.

During the investigation, Kyle Pietz told police he was driving to his former workplace when he saw Mr Balaquit outside pulling out bin bags. He then spoke to the victim and allegedly asked for boxes for wrapping.

The Crown states that Mr. Pietz killed Eduardo Balaquit in the business, that he placed his body in the back of his vehicle covering his body with cardboard and finally dumped him near Arborg, Manitoba, about 120 kilometers north of Winnipeg.

Winnipeg police said the next step was to search for Mr. Balaquit’s body.

We are now focused on the family and community of Eduardo Balaquit. We have been investigating Kyle Pietz for four years. Now we turn to Mr. Balaquitsaid Wade McDonald of Winnipeg Police.

With information from The Canadian Press