Man killed and burned in Phoenix dumpster in 'The Zone' identified

The Maricopa medical examiner released the name and autopsy report of the man who was killed before being set on fire in a Phoenix dumpster in March.

Geoffrey Rugwiro was 47 years old when he was hit over the head and killed on March 21. His body was burned in the downtown area known as "The Zone," now being cleared of a sprawling homeless encampment.

Phoenix police could not immediately identify Rugwiro and asked the public for help. He was identified early in the summer through DNA.

The medical examiner's report details the brutal circumstances surrounding Rugwiro's death.

He had suffered severe and repeated blows to his head and body with blunt objects, resulting in broken ribs, as well as a series of cuts and bruises on his head.

Rugwiro succumbed to his injuries even before being covered with trash bags and unceremoniously unloaded into the dumpster near the Human Services Campus.

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According to police, video footage from a nearby business showed two men take a shopping cart with a body and dump it into a dumpster.

Isiah Baskin, 21, and Dave Dinkins, 23, have been charged in the case and both have pled not guilty. They both have trial dates scheduled.

Police claim Baskin told them he and another man pushed Rugwiro into the dumpster, but Dinkins lit the dumpster on fire.

The fire lasted four hours before Phoenix fire crews put it out, according to the medical examiner report. It is unclear why the fire burned for so long.

Though the man identified in the police report as pushing the body into the dumpster was arrested, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office did not file charges and instead referred the case back to the Phoenix police for further investigation, leaving many unanswered questions and unresolved aspects of the crime.

The Arizona Republic requested the police investigative reports from the incident in March. They have not been released.

Baskin finds himself facing serious charges, including first-degree murder and arson, as the legal proceedings against him move forward.

His trial has been scheduled for Nov. 30 at the Maricopa Superior Court.

Dinkins faces counts of first-degree murder, arson, concealing a body and kidnapping.

His trial was set for January 2024.