The National Police of Peru have named Comox Valley resident Sebastian Woodroffe the main suspect in the slaying of indigenous shaman Olivia Arevalo Lomas.
According to Peruvian newspaper El Comercio, the Pubilc Ministry of Ucayali confirmed on May 3 Woodroffe murdered Lomas on Apri 19 in Victoria Gracia community in Ucayali.
The ministry noted Lomas was shot twice in the chest.
The head of the Ucayali prosecutors, Ricardo Jiménez, told The Associated Press all of the evidence his team has gathered justifies the author of the shooting was Woodroffe.
He added gunpowder remains were found in Woodroffe’s clothes, as well as on spent cartridges found near Lomas’s body, belonged to a gun Woodroffe bought in early April from a local policeman.
The 41-year-old travelled to Peru to study hallucinogenic medicine was killed by a mob in a remote corner of the Amazon rainforest after people blamed him for killing Lomas, authorities said.
Arevalo was a staunch defender of Indigenous people’s rights in the region. She also practised a traditional form of singing medicine that the Shipibo believe removes negative energies from individuals and a group alike.
Friends of Woodroffe have posted messages of condolences on social media pages, and Woodroffe’s Facebook profile has changed to ‘Remembering Sebastian Woodroffe.’
Former neighbours in Courtenay recently told The Record the concept of Woodroffe killing anyone – especially with a gun – is incomprehensible.
“You never even saw him raise a hand to his dog. As long as I saw Sebastian, I’ve never seen him do a mean or cruel thing, or even talk that way,” explained Mickey Montgomery. “He was always trying to help.”
