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SALT LAKE CITY — One man has been arrested in a homicide case after investigators received a crime tip that led to the recovery of another man's remains several feet underground Saturday, Salt Lake police said.
But detectives are still unsure of the full identity of the deceased man and are asking for the public's help in finding out who he is.
The victim was a Hispanic man in his mid-30s at the time of his death, and his first name was Ignacio, but he more commonly went by the name Nacho, said Salt Lake Police Sgt. Brandon Shearer. His last name is unknown.
Carlos Clemente Trevizo-Acosta, 55, of West Valley City, was arrested Saturday night without incident. He was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of the killing and four felony unlawful firearm possession offenses, according to jail records.
The tipster says the killing occurred in the summer, but they were "not 100 percent certain on the year" and have said it could have happened in 2010, 2011 or 2012, said Salt Lake Police Sgt. Brandon Shearer.
"We believe there was a disagreement between the suspect and the victim," said Salt Lake Police Sgt. Brandon Shearer. "That's something we're hoping to be able to learn (more about) as we continue this investigation."
The property where the body was found, at 799 S. Chestnut Street in Salt Lake City, is used by Los Lobos Paving and Construction, a business owned by Trevizo-Acosta, Shearer said. The business uses the property to store equipment there, the sergeant said.
The man's remains were found 7 feet underground late Saturday, following a search on the property that began in the morning with the help of cadaver dogs, Shearer said. Recovery efforts continued Sunday.
The probable cause statement filed with the jail in Trevizo-Acosta's arrest says the tipster was a witness to the killing.
"(They) described the homicide … and described how and why (Trevizo-Acosta) killed the victim. (They) heard gunshots and provided detectives with a specific and detailed eyewitness account of the murder," the document says.
Another person told the tipster about where the body was buried, according to the probable cause statement.
The case first started when police were tipped off, as previously the victim's death was unknown to police, Shearer said. He added that he was unsure of exactly what day the tip came in, but that it was received within the past month, and that Trevizo-Acosta has "been a suspect from early in the investigation."
"This is not a homicide investigation or a missing person investigation that's been going on for some time," he said. "So (we) were just recently made aware of the homicide. … It's not necessarily a cold case, because there was no evidence or no reported crime previously."
A search of court records in Utah shows Trevizo faced charges for felony forgery and misdemeanor theft in the 1990s, but all such charges were eventually dismissed. He has paid fines for several misdemeanor vehicle violations since 2011, state records indicate.
Shearer said he was unsure of what prompted the tipster to contact police, but "we're just grateful that they did come forward." He said the next step in the case is to fully identify the victim.
"We're really hoping somebody can give us information about him. … We'd really like to bring closure to the family who's missing this person at this time, and also help us with this investigation," he said.
Anyone with additional information about this case, including the victim's full identity, is asked to call Salt Lake police at 801-799-3753. Anonymous tips can also be texted to 274637. The text should begin with TIPSLCPD and refer to case 17-201891.
