Indictment made in connection to 2020 murder, body found in Methuen
Feb. 26—A grand jury has indicted 42-year-old Anderson Pereira for the first-degree murder of Zakhia Charabaty in 2020.
Additional indictment alleges that Pereira stole Charabaty's work truck and falsified physical evidence by removing the victim's body and cell phone from his Manchester home.
The search for Charabaty, 52, began March 14, 2020, two days after he was last seen at his home on Pasture Drive in Manchester, according to authorities.
On July 9, 2020, the FBI's Evidence Response Team discovered Charabaty's body buried in the back of a property at 145 Milk St., Methuen.
Authorities arrested Pereira in Kissimmee, Florida, in 2021.
The victim's family described their beloved "Zak" as "an honest, intelligent, and persistent individual."
They said he "overcame the struggles caused by a cholesteatoma that caused nerve damage, deafness and paralysis of the right side of his face. Despite enduring multiple surgeries and long-distance travel to meet medical experts and receive treatments for over a decade, he managed to maintain appreciation for the positive aspects of life and the blessings he still had."
The family noted that he was accepted to the American University of Beirut's medical school but could not attend due to civil war in Lebanon. Instead, he studied computer science at Notre Dame University-Louaize, a private, Catholic university in Lebanon.
He moved to Montreal, Quebec, where he lived and worked near his older sisters in a vibrant Maronite Lebanese community, the family said.
"Zak's Maronite faith and his passion for its beautiful expression allowed him to sing for church choirs since his childhood," the family said. "Singing hymns of faith brought him and those listening peace and spiritual connectivity. After moving to the United States, he worked as a distributor for Cedar's Mediterranean Food in Haverhill."
The family also thanked the "hundreds of law enforcement personnel from Massachusetts and New Hampshire, local, state and federal authorities who risked their lives during the pandemic, going above and beyond, searching for evidence and leads to find Zak. Our appreciation and gratitude for their service to our family can never be overstated."
