Brody's Notes... Murder Suspect In Gay Immigrant's Death Claims It Was Accidental

David Muñoz Diaz
SFPD Booking Photo 

By Brody Levesque | SAN FRANCISCO -- The man accused of murdering 23 year old Freddy Canul-Arguello and then setting fire to his remains is claiming it was accidental according to his lawyer, Alex Lilien, from the San Francisco public defender's office.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Lilien said he believes that his client, David Muñoz Diaz, 22, and the victim went to Buena Vista Park in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood to engage in an sexual encounter after having a few drinks at a bar in the Castro.

"I believe it was a terrible accident and some form of erotic asphyxiation," Lilien said outside the courtroom. "Mr. Diaz then panicked," stuffed Canul-Arguello's body in a garbage can and set the can on fire, the defense attorney said.

David Muñoz Diaz, 22, was originally scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday, but after concerns were expressed about his mental state, Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ross ordered a full mental health evaluation be done and set the hearing for this morning.

The Chronicle reported that Diaz is currently being being held on $5 million bail. Also during the brief hearing this morning, Judge Ross denied defence attorney Lilien's motion to reduce Diaz's from $5 million bail to $1 million, citing the fact that the incident in the park which touched off the fire had endangered the public.

Canul-Arguello’s body was discovered by San Francisco firefighters around 4:40 a.m. June 10  responding to a reported brush fire incident in Buena Vista Park in the city’s famed Haight district — they found what turned out to be Freddy Canul-Arguello's partially burned body in an nearby dumpster. Police said they believe he had been killed prior to his body being burned.

The San Francisco district attorney's office has charged Diaz with second degree murder, arson, and willful mutilation of a corpse. Diaz listened to the proceedings through a Spanish interpreter and remained quiet for the duration of his arraignment.

The medical examiner's examination results (coroner's report) and cause of death have not been released publicly.