B.C. man sentenced for 'callous' indignity to remains of young man found dead in 2016

Burnaby, B.C. resident Oliver Zamarripa, 19, was found dead on Nov. 1, two weeks after he was reported missing. (Handout)

Warning: This story contains details readers may find disturbing

A B.C. man acted with a "chilling sense of calm" when he took "deliberate steps to conceal and dispose of" the body of a young man he met online nearly eight years ago, according to a provincial court judge.

The body of Oliver Mora Zamarripa, 19, was found in a culvert in Lytton on Nov. 1, 2016 – two weeks after he was reported missing and hundreds of kilometres away from where he lived, Judge Susan Sangha's sentencing decision says.

The cause of Zamarripa's death has never been determined, something the court heard continues to cause "devastation" and "anguish" for his family.

Charges in the case were laid in 2021 after an undercover operation targeting David Alexander Mah – who had previously taken steps to evade police, including staging his own disappearance, posting a "suicide message" on social media and relocating to Vancouver Island where he "lived under various aliases."

Although initially arrested for murder, Mah was charged with and pleaded guilty to indignity to human remains.

What the court heard

In handing down a sentence of two years less a day for that crime, the judge shed light on the details of the case that have left Zamarripa's loved ones "haunted by how his body was mistreated."

Mah was 42 when he met Zamarripa through Grindr in the early hours of Oct. 15, 2016. The court heard that the two men used drugs and had a consensual sexual encounter at Mah's apartment. Later, Mah said he awoke to find Zamarripa dead.

"Mr. Mah went to a nearby store and purchased black garbage bags and duct tape. He then wrapped Mr. Zamarripa's body in several layers of garbage bags and stored the body under his bed. He returned the partially used box of garbage bags to the store," according to the decision.

"He also invited a friend over and at least attempted to have sex with them while Mr. Zamarripa's body remained under the bed."

Mah then rented a car and headed to Prince George to visit a "friend and confidant" who he had told about the victim's death. Along the way, Mah disposed bedding as well as Zamarripa’s clothes and cell phone.

"Mr. Mah remained in Prince George for two days while Mr. Zamarripa's body remained in the trunk of the rental vehicle," the judge said, adding that Mah's friend "pleaded with Mr. Mah to give Mr. Zamarripa's family some closure."

Instead, Mah threw the body into the culvert where it would later be found by two CN rail workers.

An autopsy was done but the coroner could not conclusively say how Zamarripa died. The victim was found to have sustained "physical injuries" and a drug overdose was ruled out, the court heard.

DNA was also recovered.

"Multiple DNA profiles were detected, including Mr. Mah's. Mr. Mah admitted to having collected and stored in his freezer DNA from other males in the form of semen," Sangha wrote.

"Mr. Mah placed DNA on Mr. Zamarripa. He says he did so during a consensual sex act when Mr. Zamarripa was still alive. The Crown submits that he did so post-mortem to obfuscate any investigation."

Ten days after the body was found, police went to Mah's building to canvas its residents. Mah told the officers he did not recognize Zamarripa and that he had not used Grindr in months.

Two weeks after that, Mah moved out.

Details of why and how police conducted their undercover operation nearly five years later are not included in the decision, but it says Mah was "the subject of 84 interactions" before his arrest in August of 2021.

'Particularly callous and troubling'

Defence council asked the court to impose a conditional sentence of two years, followed by three years of probation. Crown argued for a prison sentence of two years, followed by the same probationary period.

"In my view, nothing less than incarceration is appropriate or reasonable in the circumstances of this case," Sangha said.

Mah's guilty plea and lack of criminal record were the key mitigating factors the judge cited. The aggravating factors included Mah's "particularly callous and troubling" behaviour. Not only did Mah fail to call 911 immediately after the victim's death, he also took "active steps" to evade police and hinder the investigation.

"Hapless civilians eventually discovered Mr. Zamarripa's body. The advanced decomposition of the body deprived Mr. Zamarripa's family of not only the ability to say goodbye to their loved one properly, it means they will never know how and why he died," Sangha said.

"Their speculation in that regard continues to torment them and they will never have the closure they so desperately seek."

After Mah serves his jail term, the terms of his probation will require him to complete counselling, abstain from alcohol and drugs and to inform the court of any changes in address, name or employment. He will also be subject to a 10-year firearms prohibition and required to provide a DNA sample.