Family of Magna man killed in 2005 expresses relief, gratitude following arrest

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Andrew Royter expressed relief Friday after an arrest was finally made in his father's 2005 killing.
Mark Nelson Munoz was arrested following a DNA match in the cold case, police say.
The Royter family and detectives expressed gratitude for persistent efforts in solving the case.

SOUTH SALT LAKE — Andrew Royter was just 12 when his father was found stabbed to death inside his Magna home nearly 20 years ago.

He says for the past two decades he has carried a lot of anger with him and didn't want to talk about it.

On Thursday, Royter met with Salt Lake County sheriff's detective Ben Pender and Christine Petty-Brown, Unified police chief of the Millcreek district, who informed his family that an arrest had finally be made in his father's killing.

Mark Nelson Munoz, 53, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Thursday for investigation of murder in the 2005 death of 33-year-old Jason Royter.

"From last night, it's been a huge relief just taken off our shoulders, chest, soul. I used to be an angry person. After last night, it just felt like I had 10 years of therapy hit me all at once. I just feel so much better. I feel happier," Andrew Royter said on Friday. "I don't feel sad anymore. I was carrying that for years. I'd be asked about it, and I'd say, 'I don't want to talk about it right now.'"

Jason Mitchell Royter was found dead inside his Magna home early in the morning of Aug. 6, 2005.

"When officers arrived, they saw signs of a struggle in the home. There were no signs of forced entry, so Royter may have let the suspect in before the altercation. He received multiple stab wounds and bled to death," according to the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification's website.

Pender and Petty-Brown were both detectives with the sheriff's homicide unit at that time and responded to the scene that day. Despite continuous work, no arrests were made. Petty-Brown worked the case for 10 years before Pender took over as the department's cold case specialist.

Last year, a big break came in the case when a "hit" was made on the national DNA database CODIS. Following what Pender called "a lot of hard work and a lot of forward thinking by detectives," Munoz was arrested on Thursday.

On Friday, during a press conference with Pender, Petty-Brown and Sheriff Rosie Rivera, Jason Royter's family expressed gratitude to detectives for not giving up.

"I don't know what to say. I've been going through so many emotions the past 24 hours," Niki Price, Royter's sister, said.

"There was no reason to give up," added sister Stephani Perschon, who said she knew this day would come. "There was no reason to stop talking about it. It's been a hell of a 20 years. But we're here and we're just going to move forward."

The sheriff's office also thanked the family of Jason Royter who kept the case in the forefront of both the public and detectives by constantly calling them. Rivera also gave kudos to the detectives who first responded to the crime scene and did an excellent job of preserving evidence that could be tested nearly 20 years later with the advancement of technology, as well as the work done by Pender over the past 10 years.

"He never gives up," the sheriff said.

Munoz's criminal history in Utah includes mostly misdemeanor crimes, according to state court records. Pender says the DNA match came last year because of a crime that happened in another state that required his DNA to be entered into the database.

The sheriff's office says the case is still active and detectives are hoping that the arrest of Munoz, who spent many years living in the Magna area, will jog the memories of others who will now come forward.

"We are looking for any additional evidence that will help the case," Rivera said. "The case is not over. We want to make sure that justice is served."

Rivera said detectives are still working on determining a possible motive and are not releasing additional details about what may have happened in Royter's home, including whether police are looking for any additional people.

On Friday, the sheriff said the focus was on Royter.

"He was a wonderful father to two children when he was tragically taken from his family. It was a horrible thing for this family to go through," she said. "This family has not given up."

Rivera said her office also did not lose hope.

"Hope is what drives this, and every single case is important to us," she said.

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