Cousin discovers 23-year-old’s body bound and duct taped, Washington cops say
A concerned cousin found his 23-year-old relative’s body bound and duct taped in an apartment in Washington after police said two men broke into his home.
Huy “Alex” Huu Nguyen, 56, was arrested June 3, months after the discovery, the Renton Police Department said in an arrest report.
The cousin went to an apartment March 5 where Axel Enrique Chirinos-Banegas lived with his uncle because he couldn’t get a hold of the man, police said in a probable cause statement.
He found Chirinos-Banegas on the kitchen floor and saw his mouth was covered with “bright orange duct tape” and his ankles and wrists were bound, police said.
Investigators said it looked like the apartment had been “significantly ransacked and rummaged through.”
Two men were caught on surveillance camera the night of March 3 showing up at the apartment complex then later leaving it with full duffel bags, police said.
Fingerprints were taken from the scene and they were matched to Nguyen, police said.
Investigators also tracked stolen watches from the apartment to pawn shops where Nguyen sold them, according to the charging documents.
He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, first-degree burglary and trafficking in stolen property.
The second man has not been arrested.
A medical examiner said Chirinos-Banegas died from asphyxia “from the combined effects of restrained prone positioning, smothering and multiple blunt force injuries,” officials said.
Chirinos-Banegas’ uncle, who was out of the country at the time of the burglary, told police he didn’t recognize Nguyen, authorities said in the report.
Renton is about a 10-mile drive southeast from Seattle.
This story was originally published June 9, 2025 at 2:41 PM with the headline "Cousin discovers 23-year-old’s body bound and duct taped, Washington cops say."
