Police ID Bagged-Up Corpse Floating in Pelican Harbor; Mystery Deepens

Yesterday, someone biking near the waterfront next to the 79th Street Causeway noticed a sketchy-looking bag bobbing in the water and called the cops. Police found human remains inside it. Later that afternoon, divers discovered another bag full of body parts about a quarter-mile away. This morning, police identified the victim:...
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Yesterday, someone biking near the waterfront next to the 79th Street Causeway noticed a sketchy-looking bag bobbing in the water and called the cops. Police found human remains inside it. Later that afternoon, divers discovered another bag full of body parts about a quarter-mile away.

This morning, police identified the victim: 21-year-old Osben Laparra, Miami Police spokeswoman Officer Kenia Alfonso tells Riptide.

Cops were able to describe the victim as a man with medium- to shoulder-length black hair and a medium complexion, which prompted Laparra’s brother to call in and identify him.

Now police have an even tougher question to answer: Why would someone kill Laparra, chop him into pieces, and toss him into Pelican Harbor? 

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Laparra’s brother told the Miami Herald that Osben worked in construction and had been missing since Saturday.

Riptide searched criminal records and turned up only one arrest on Laparra’s record, a misdemeanor last August for disorderly intoxication.

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