A Canyon Country man accused of shooting his friend and dumping the body in Sand Canyon was held to answer the charges Wednesday.

David Aldana, 21, of Canyon Country, is charged with one count of murder, with special allegations that the crime involved a handgun.

Aldana walked into the U.S. Port of Entry Customs Border Protection Office in San Ysidro in February and claimed that he had killed Maximiliano Bernal, 22, of Newhall, in the Canyon Country area, said Lt. Eddie Hernandez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau.

Perhaps the most puzzling aspect of the case is the lack of a motive that’s been asserted by either the Sheriff’s Department or the District Attorney’s Office.

“At this point, we really don’t have any evidence of the motive,” said Jeffrey Illions, who’s prosecuting the case. 

The first authorities heard of the crime was when Aldana contacted Border Patrol agents, according to officials.

“As he was crossing the border on re-entry, he was trying to turn himself in,” Illions said.

Both the suspect and the victim were from Canyon Country, Hernandez said, and previously described them as longtime friends.

Investigators found Bernal’s body near a gravel and dirt turnout on Sand Canyon Road at Mile Marker 7.98, Hernandez said.

After his initial confession, Aldana identified where the body of Bernal was buried for officials, and then did not give any additional statements, according to Hernandez. He didn’t tell officers why he was returning from Mexico at the time of his questioning.

Aldana is due back in front of Judge Michael Perrell for his formal arraignment Sept. 14, when he will enter his plea to the murder charge.

Aldana is facing up to 50 years to life in prison if convicted of the charge.

He’s being held in lieu of $2,050,000 bail.