Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Kevin Lynn Capps, killed 32 years ago, was identified through advanced DNA testing.
- Detectives connected with Capps' daughter, Chelsea LaRoe, updating her on the case.
- The Weber County Sheriff's Office seeks information regarding the circumstances of Capps' death.
OGDEN — The Weber County Sheriff's Office has announced the identity of a man killed 32 years ago in Ogden.
In April 1992, Weber County deputies found a man's body in a burning boat in a field near I-15 and 21st Street. The death was deemed suspicious and investigated as a homicide.
The body was unrecognizable from the flames, and police didn't find any personal identifying items on the scene. Dental records of reported missing people in surrounding areas and states were checked, and police attempted to identify him several times by submitting his DNA to databases.
The man remained unidentified until this year. Weber County sheriff's detective Ty Hebdon announced the significant breakthrough in the cold case in a video posted on social media Monday.
The man was identified as Kevin Lynn Capps, who was 30 at the time of his death. The Weber Metro Cold Case Task Force used "advanced DNA testing, including investigative genetic genealogy testing" to identify him, Hebdon said.
The DNA testing was completed by Othram Inc., which also helped the Mohave County Sheriff's Office identify remains found near the Hoover Dam 15 years ago.
Detectives discovered Capps left behind a 4-year-old daughter, who they connected with in August to update her on the case.
"I spent my entire life wondering why he left and if he ever thought about me. As a kid growing up, it made me sad, angry and filled with questions," Capps' daughter, Chelsea LaRoe, said.
LaRoe said two Weber County deputies came to her door and told her how her dad had died under mysterious circumstances.
"I will remember Aug. 12, 2024, for the rest of my life. That day changed everything," LaRoe said.
After finding out about the death, LaRoe and her mother visited a cemetery in Ogden where Capps was buried in an unmarked grave.
The Weber County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with information on what led up to Capps' death to reach out to Hebdon at 801-778-6646.
