Gun used in shaman killing found, Peru prosecutors say
Prosecutors in Peru say they believe they have found the murder weapon in the shooting death of a respected shaman and are investigating whether it’s the same gun purchased by the Comox Valley man lynched in retaliation.
Peru’s attorney general on Thursday tweeted a picture of a 9mm Taurus pistol. Investigators believe it could be the same gun a police officer sold to Sebastian Woodroffe on April 3.
The gun was located about 100 metres from where police found a motorcycle they believe belonged to Woodroffe.
Woodroffe, 41, was killed April 19, strangled to death with a seatbelt as a crowd watched. His body was buried in a shallow grave about 50 metres from where the motorcycle was discovered.
Woodroffe’s death came soon after the shooting death of Olivia Arévalo, an 81-year-old plant-healer and Indigenous rights activist from the Shipibo-Konibo tribe of northeastern Peru.
The woman’s family accused Woodroffe of going to Arévalo’s home in the community of Victoria Gracia and shooting her twice in the chest after she refused to perform an ayahuasca ceremony, which involves a powerful hallucinogenic brew made of native plants.
Newspapers in Peru reported that Woodroffe fled on a motorcycle, but villagers caught up to him, brought him back to the village and strangled him to death.
His death was captured on cellphone video, which police used to identify two suspects.
The police officer who sold Woodroffe the gun told detectives that Woodroffe said he wanted it for self-defence, according to El Comercio, a daily newspaper based in Lima.
Forensic experts will test Woodroffe’s clothes for gunshot residue and investigate whether found shell casings match the Taurus pistol.
The newspaper reported that Woodroffe was owed money by one of Arévalo’s relatives.
The Peruvian government is working to repatriate Woodroffe’s body to Canada.
An online fundraising account has been set up to pay for Woodroffe’s funeral and to support his sister, Jessica Berry. A separate account is dedicated to helping Woodroffe’s nine-year-old son and the child’s mother.
Close friends of Woodroffe say he was a peaceful and loving person and don’t believe he was capable of murder.
“Anyone who knew Sebastian or had the honour of crossing paths with him can speak to his gentle spirit, his playful nature, his generosity to fellow beings, and his deep loving commitment to family and above all his son,” Nat Raedwulf wrote on one of the fundraising pages.
Woodroffe was the kind of person who would cook a meal, offer a place to stay or give his last $20 to someone who needed it, said Raedwulf, who has known Woodroffe for more than a decade.
Woodroffe had travelled to the Amazon rainforest to study hallucinogenic medicine and its potential for treating addiction.
The Canadian government issued a travel advisory warning Canadians to exercise a high degree of caution when travelling to Peru due to “serious crime, as well as social conflicts and strikes that may occur across the country.”
The advisory urges Canadians to avoid non-essential travel to the Ucayali region.