In a strange twist, the Surrey house where police found a baby boy in unsafe conditions earlier this week has been linked to the death of a Burnaby contractor last month.

On July 2, 60-year-old Alberto Morgadinho and the driver of the van were involved in an altercation that began at his business, Berto Contractors Ltd., in the 7500-block of Meadow Avenue in South Burnaby's Big Bend area. The suspects were apparently trying to steal from the property.

Morgadinho chased after the van and died from his injuries on the roadway outside his property.

A week later, the van was located and seized at a Surrey home. No arrests have been made in the case.

"The only link between that Surrey house and the Morgadinho case is the fact we found a vehicle there that we were looking for in connection to that file," said Corp. Dale Carr of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.

"At the time that we seized the vehicle people [at the home] were questioned," said Carr. They would be "I would think, not questioned as a result of this new file, it has nothing to do with our investigation."

On Aug. 7, Langley RCMP visited the Surrey house as part of an investigation into property stolen from Langley being sold on Craigslist.

While there, officers said, they found an eight-month-old baby boy living in "disgusting" conditions–dirty and dangerous, with drug paraphernalia, cigarette butts and sharp objects all within the baby's reach. His parents were not home at the time and he had been left in the care of transients who showed no concern for the boy who was seen crawling in the dirt among paint balls and tools.

The Ministry of Children and Families was contacted and the boy was taken into government care.

The developer who owns the house, which has no electricity, has said in media reports that the occupants of the home are squatters, living there illegally.

wchow@burnabynewsleader.com