The family of 28-year-old Marc Pourner became concerned last week when he did not turn up for work in Houston, TX and reported him missing.

On Saturday, police identified his remains and vehicle in Montgomery County where his body was found bound and gagged with evidence of blunt force trauma to his head near his truck which was set on fire.

The victim’s father, Mark Pourner told KTRK-TV that he believes the murder is a hate crime because Marc was gay.

“In our discussion with the detectives one of the first things I told them when they briefed us this morning was that one of the things that struck me about how this crime was carried out was the speed and cold efficiency that it took place with.”

According to About News, the tip came from a “person of interest” who is connected to the victim

The case has not been “officially” declared a hate crime at the time of this writing.

Our prayers are with Marc and his family.