Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Cesar Matias Sevilla-Aleman faces a fourth murder charge after additional human remains were found.
- He was previously charged with killing three people over a drug debt.
- DNA confirmed the fourth victim as Jose Castaneda-Lopez, shot 16 times.
WEST VALLEY CITY — An Orem man already accused of killing three people and burying their bodies in a remote area of Tooele County is now accused of killing a fourth man after additional remains were found in the same area.
Cesar Matias Sevilla-Aleman, 26 — whose moniker is "Taliban," according to prosecutors — was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with additional counts of aggravated murder and aggravated kidnapping, first-degree felonies.
Less than a year ago, Sevilla-Aleman was charged with three counts of aggravated murder and three counts of aggravated kidnapping for the shooting deaths of Rocio Baneulos-Bustamante, 29, Carlos "Carlitos" Sepulveda-Montes, age unknown, and 35-year-old Zamir "Cumbias" Sanchez-Hernandez. Investigators say the two men, who were last seen on March 28, 2022, were killed over a $2,400 drug debt, while a woman was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
On April 22, 2023, cadaver dogs located human remains while training in the area of the Mercur Trailhead in Tooele County. Three bodies and two bullets were found in a grave the next day, according to the charges, and a wallet that contained Sanchez-Hernandez's identification was found in the back pocket of one of the victims.
Investigators used DNA, fingerprints and tattoos on the bodies to positively identify the remains as the three missing people.
According to the amended charges filed Thursday, a Utah County sheriff's detective was in the same area on April 19, 2024, and found what was later determined to be a rib bone.
"The rib bone was found in the same general area where the other three above victims had previously been found. Detectives found numerous scattered bones and a human jaw with some teeth still attached. Detectives obtained search warrants for the area and the site was processed. Skeletal remains were exhumed, and evidence was collected," the charges state. "Two 9mm bullets and a casing were located inside of the grave. Several other bullets, casings and bone pieces were found on later dates near the same area."
Detectives also found a wallet that had a passport for Jose "Angel" Castaneda-Lopez. Castaneda-Lopez had been listed as missing since April of 2022. DNA testing confirmed the remains found were Castaneda-Lopez, according to charging documents.
"Detectives conducted several interviews with witnesses who confirmed Sevilla-Aleman had contact and interactions with Angel. Witnesses stated they believed Angel owed people money," the charges state.
Witnesses said Sevilla-Aleman called Castaneda-Lopez the day before he disappeared and was "furious" with him, according to the investigators. An autopsy determined that "the victim appeared to have been shot 16 times. This is consistent with the 16 bullets that were recovered at the grave site," the charges say.
At the time Sevilla-Aleman was charged with the first three murders, he was already serving consecutive prison terms of five years to life and three to 15 years for a shooting on Sept. 4, 2022, at a rodeo being held at Lincoln Beach on the west side of West Mountain near the town of Genola. Detectives found news articles about Sevilla-Aleman and learned he may have a connection to at least one of the missing victims.
His next court hearing in the serial killing case is scheduled for Feb. 11.
