Family awaits justice in 'unimaginable' killing of a man in 'The Zone'
PHOENIX - The brother of a man set on fire near downtown Phoenix is speaking out as the wheels of justice churn in court.
The burned body of Geoffrey Rugwiro was found in a dumpster in spring 2023 in an area formerly known as "The Zone" near 11th Avenue and Madison Street.
At one point, more than a thousand homeless people lived in "The Zone" before it was cleared out following a court decision.
The Maricopa County Attorney's Office says one of the men connected to the crime was sentenced on Jan. 3. County attorney Rachel Mitchell said the defendant, Dave Dinkins, showed an "unimaginable amount of cruelty and an immense disregard for the victim's life."
She called "The Zone" a former "hotbed for crime and violence," adding that the victim in this case suffered in ways many cannot imagine.
Now, Geoffrey's family is left with their own suffering.
They continue to seek complete justice while another suspect waits for his trial.
Left to right: Dave Dinkins, Geoffrey Rugwiro, and Isaiah Baskin
‘Emotionally breaking’
"It was really stressful," Vincent Kayitare, Geoffrey's brother, said. "It was really emotionally breaking."
Kayitare says when he lost his big brother, he lost the man he had grown up with and lived with after moving to the United States from Rwanda.
He says they'd speak constantly.
"On the level of not only being family, but this kind of friend who is gonna call you at 3 o'clock in the morning, just checking in on you. ‘Are you OK? You good?’" Kayitare remembered.
He says he spoke with Geoffrey on March 20, 2021, for the last time.
That's because Geoffrey was beaten to death the next day. His body was burned and left in a dumpster to be found.
Due to the nature of his murder, it took three months for the family to identify him.
Geoffrey Rugwiro and his brother Vincent Kayitare
"It took us a lot of time to find out it was him. I had to take a DNA test to make sure they matched the right person," Kayitare explained.
Kayitare relocated to the Phoenix area to follow Geoffrey's case.
Three men were seen on security camera pushing a shopping cart carrying what was later determined to be Geoffrey's body to the dumpster and lighting it on fire.
One man's charges were later dropped.
Dinkins, was sentenced to 42 years for the crime on Friday, Jan. 3. The third man, Isaiah Baskin, is still awaiting trial for multiple charges, including murder.
"On one of the parties, justice was served. It doesn't bring Geoffrey back, but at least we can sit back and say, OK, they put him in trash, they're not in trash, but they're somewhere that they'll need to be for the rest of their lives, or, you know, until they cannot do nothing after 42 years," Kayitare said.
He says family from Rwanda flew in for Dinkins' sentencing, and will likely return for Baskins' trial. He says that family unity and prayer have kept them strong these past couple of years.