Utah
Body discovery shocks quiet southern Utah rental home community
WASHINGTON CITY, Utah — There’s nothing too unusual about the fact there are so many short-term rentals in this Washington City neighborhood, but what occurred over the weekend has been a shock to the community.
On Monday, those seen in the Sendera at Sierra Hills neighborhood were walking to the popular pool with its lazy river and big slide, as well as those cleaning the many vacation rentals.
Crime
‘Persons of interest’ ID’d after woman found dead in vacation home
Maggie Adler has been part of cleaning crews in the neighborhood that service bigger family homes. She estimates that only 20 percent have full-time residents, while the other homes are rented out.
On Sunday morning, a cleaning crew came upon a gruesome discovery, finding the body of a 47-year-old woman who had allegedly been stabbed multiple times.
“I was not involved in the cleaning of that house,” Adler said. “We have another unit just right behind it. So we got to see all the action. As a cleaner, that’s your biggest fear, walking into a home and finding a dead body.
“Nobody wants to do that.”
Multiple Hazmat cleaning crews were seen arriving at the home on Monday. Washington City police said the victim was from California and had been staying at the rental since Thursday. They say the victim was stabbed late Saturday and her body was discovered about six hours later.
“You would think that a vacation rental area had a lot of cameras. Unfortunately, this one does not. But we have canvassed the ones that we do have,” explained Washington City police Lt. Kory Klotz.
With some of the video that was obtained, police were able to see two people of interest leaving in the victim’s car. That vehicle was found in another state and police are coordinating with law enforcement in that area to find the suspects.
“We do not believe that there’s anybody currently here that was involved in this incident,” Klotz added. “We do believe [the persons of interest] were acquaintances of the victim at minimum.”
Police said one thing that has been different about the investigation is the tourists, who Klotz shared have been very forthcoming and have played a larger role than usual when helping to piece together what happened.
“It just kind of left an eerie feeling through the neighborhood all day yesterday, even today, you know, it’s just so tragic,” Adler shared. “So, so tragic.”
SALT LAKE CITY — A California man in Utah, as part of his duties with the National Guard, is accused of trying to solicit sex from a young teenager.
Joshua Ruben Rodriguez, 29, of Fresno, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with attempted rape of a child, a first-degree felony, and enticement of a minor, a second-degree felony.
The investigation began when an agent with the Utah State Bureau of Investigation posed as a 13-year-old girl on a “popular social media site … in an attempt to locate and apprehend adults attempting to have sexual contact with children,” according to charging documents.
On April 16, Rodriguez sent the agent a message — believing he was talking to a teen girl — that stated, “I’ll be direct with you, I would like to get to know you and (have sex with) your mind into a daze to where you feel like a woman,” according to charging documents.
When the “girl” asked if he had a problem with her age, Rodriguez replied, “I don’t have a problem with your age,” the charges state.
The agent told Rodriguez to meet at an apartment complex in Salt Lake County where the girl lived, claiming her mother would be gone. When Rodriguez arrived, he was taken into custody, the charges state.
“(Rodriguez) does not have ties to Utah. He is a resident of Fresno, California. (He) was in town as part of his military service with the California National Guard,” prosecutors stated in charging documents while requesting he be held without bail pending trial.
ST. GEORGE, Utah (KUTV) — One person was hospitalized at the St. George Regional Hospital after a car rolled and caught fire just south of the Utah-Arizona border.
The Beaver Dam and Littlefield Fire Department in Arizona said its crews responded to the crash near the Black Rock Road exit – roughly two miles south of the state border – on Sunday night.
Upon arrival, crews put out the car fire and found the driver had left the scene. A single occupant, who was able to get out of the car on their own, was transported to the hospital by a Beaver Dam ambulance.
MORE | Crashes
Their condition has not been publicly released.
Details on what led to the crash and the condition of the driver were not immediately available.
The Beaver Dam and Littlefield Fire Department said law enforcement investigated the scene.
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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz missed out on the NBA Playoffs, but still scored a big win thanks to a coin flip.
In Monday’s tiebreaker coin flip to determine who had the fourth-worst record in the league last season, the Jazz came out winners over the Sacramento Kings, who had the same 22-60 record.
Had the Jazz lost the coin flip, they would have been fifth in NBA Draft Lottery odds. Only the worst four teams are guaranteed to remain within the top eight of the lottery.
If Utah had fallen to fifth, there would have been the chance they could have dropped out of the top 8 teams in the lottery, and owed the draft pick to Oklahoma City, which was top-8 protected in a previous trade.
The Jazz now have an 11.5 percent chance to win the first overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, which is scheduled for Sunday, May 10.
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