Friends of Vancouver鈥檚 first homicide victim of the year will gather Saturday to remember Jesus Cristobal-Esteban at a church ceremony a couple of blocks from the Downtown Eastside park where he was beaten New Year鈥檚 Day.
麻豆传媒映画police have yet to arrest a suspect in Cristobal-Esteban鈥檚 murder, which friends may have been related to an altercation over a beer in Oppenheimer Park in the early afternoon of Jan. 1.
Cristobal-Esteban, 62, died the next day in hospital.
The ceremony at St. James鈥� Anglican Church, where Cristobal-Esteban was a member, is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to noon on Feb. 1, followed by a burial at a cemetery in Surrey.
Ingrid Mendez de Cruz and her husband, Byron, were close friends with Cristobal-Esteban, all three of them originally from Guatemala.
Ingrid, who is the executive director of Watari Counselling and Support Services Society, said she is expecting a couple hundred people to attend the church Saturday, possibly more once the ceremony is advertised.
鈥淛esus had so many friends and we could not reach all of them and let them know this is happening,鈥� she said, hoping the ceremony will bring closure to those still grieving.
Cristobal-Esteban came to 麻豆传媒映画from Guatemala in 1993 as a refugee and became a permanent resident of Canada last summer. His plan was to apply for citizenship and one day return to Guatemala for a visit.
Cristobal-Esteban, who has family in Guatemala, was an avid gardener, working for Sole Street Farms for almost eight years. He also helped maintain garden plots for Watari Counselling and Support Services Society.
Cristobal-Esteban was a Downtown Eastside resident, who frequented the park to mix with members of the Latino community. He also worked in the park鈥檚 community kitchen when the field house was open.
Sgt. Aaron Roed, a 麻豆传媒映画police media relations officer, said Wednesday that officers continue to investigate the murder of Cristobal-Esteban but had no update to provide on the case.
Anyone with information on the homicide is asked to call the 麻豆传媒映画police鈥檚 homicide detectives at 604-717-2500, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.
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