Phoenix police looking for leads in two murder cases

Someone killed 53-year-old Patrick McLaughlin.

According to Phoenix Police Sgt. Darren Burch, McLaughlin was found inside his burned, white 1999 Lincoln Town Car on Monday, May 7, 2012.

“He was found in a very remote area of Maricopa County, near Canyon Lake off of SR88,” Burch said.

Burch said suspects will often burn vehicles to destroy evidence.

McLaughlin lived in Tempe and hung out both there and in Mesa.

“He was seen on May 6, just the day prior to being found dead, driving around that area,” Burch said.

For more information on this case, click here.

On the other side of town, in an unrelated case, another body was discovered.

It was Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, just before 2 a.m. when the body of 29-year-old Jose Aguirre-Villasana was found just south of Indian School Road and 33rd Avenue near a canal bank.

Burch said that at first, investigators thought Aguirre-Villasana had been killed by a hit-and-run driver.

“But they found the vehicle and now the medical examiner has ruled this as a homicide prior to the motor vehicle accident,” Burch said.

It appears Aguirre-Villasana was beaten to death before being run over by an unsuspecting driver.

For more information on this case, click here.

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