03/27/2024
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By Erin Smith

The Bladen County Sheriff’s Office is still seeking leads in a 2017 murder case involving a migrant worker. Investigators with the Sheriff’s Office say the case remains active.

In May 2017, Bladen County Sheriff’s Investigators were called to a home on Oakview Trail off of Willard Tatum Road in Elizabethtown for a home robbery.

Oakview Trail is about three miles north of downtown Elizabethtown off Willard Tatum Road on the way to White Lake via U.S. 701.

When investigators arrived, they found Leonardo Zongua, 33, had been shot during the robbery. He was later pronounced dead of his wounds at Cape Fear Valley-Bladen Healthcare.

Bladen County Chief Deputy Larry Guyton said, “It’s still an open, unsolved homicide.”

He said investigators do have three persons of interest but they have never been able to move forward with the case.

“Anybody with any information, please come forward. Any information you give will be kept confidential,” said Chief Deputy Guyton.

According to investigators, six people were outside of a rented mobile home in May 2017 when they were approached by “several black males.” The group, five men and one woman were in Bladen County to pick blueberries.

At some point during the confrontation, one of the migrant workers attempted to resist the robbers and a struggle ensued and Zongua was shot and killed.

If you have any information regarding the incident or the suspects, you are asked to contact the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office at 910-862-6960. All information will remain confidential.

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https://bladencounty.org/migrant-worker-shot-dead-friday-night-during-home-robbery/

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