This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
This is a list compiled by The Salt Lake Tribune of the 58 people who were killed by others statewide in 2015, excluding negligent homicides, automobile homicides, car crashes and cases that prosecutors deemed justified. Click on the links to learn more about each case. Click here to read about the homicide trends of 2015.
Bobbie Barnett, 31 • Jan. 1. She died after a man punched her at a New Year's Eve party in Clearfield. Alcario Jesus Archuleta-Valdez, 33, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge, misdemeanor assault.
Christian McDonald, 24 • Jan. 24. McDonald was allegedly shot during an alleged drug-buy rip-off in Sugar House. Jeremiah Ray Hart and Erick Eugene Burwell were charged.
Leslie Beus, 68 • Jan. 28. The West Valley City man was allegedly attacked by Gerardo Enrique Perez, 19, who was wielding a hammer and a knife. Perez was charged.
Amanda Hoyt, 26 • Feb. 8. Hoyt was shot and killed by her boyfriend in a murder-suicide in North Logan.
Julio Guerrero, 23 • Feb. 10. While he was an inmate at the Utah State Prison, Guerrero died of "blunt force trauma" suffered long enough to cause asphyxia. His cellmate, Mario Alfonso Lucero, pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Anthony Sorenson, 64 • Feb. 18. Sorenson was shot and killed by his girlfriend's grandson, Riley Mecham, who then killed himself at the Orem home.
Modibo Diallo, 33 • Feb. 22. Diallo, a Somalian national, was allegedly shot and killed by Ahmed Sharif-Mohamed Ali during a dispute at a party in Millcreek. Ali was charged.
Steven Ferguson, 34 • Feb. 23. The Ogden resident was allegedly shot and killed by a man, Isaac Daniel Duran, who was charged eight months later.
Lindsay Holbrook, 32 • Feb. 28. An Ogden man, Lyle Robert London, admitted that he beat and strangled Holbrook inside her Washington Terrace home — a crime that was motivated by financial gain, according to court documents.
Randy Lewis, 29 • March 15. Lewis, from Missouri, was shot and killed while visiting people in West Point. The suspect, Jory Arlow Fenstermaker, has pleaded not guilty.
David Marsh, 62 • March 18. Marsh was a Murray convenience store clerk who was shot and killed during a holdup. Martin Albert Castillo, Juan Andres Zalazar and Alexis Alan Garcia were charged.
Michael Ramirez, 28 • April 5. The Salt Lake City man was beaten to death after an argument about money with Robert Carlos Munoz, who was "under the influence of controlled substances," according to plea agreement documents.
Tyson Antonio, 23 • April 11. Antonio was shot and killed at his mother's Ballard home. His brother, Craig Antonio, was charged with the crime, but has been deemed incompetent to stand trial.
Milinda Wright, 36 • April 11. The Lehi woman was shot and killed by her husband, Gordon Wright, in a murder-suicide while they were at their Fruitland vacation home.
Keltsie Gerlach, 19 • April 16. Gerlach's ex-husband, Spencer Gerlach, stabbed her to death in her Brigham City apartment. He pleaded guilty.
Francisco Lopez, 18 • May 3. While investigating noise complaints, an Ogden police officer found Lopez's body lying near an intersection. He had been shot multiple times, and police have yet to name a suspect.
James Sieger Jr., 2 • May 11. Sieger was fatally beaten in Layton after his mother's boyfriend, Joshua Scott Schoenenberger, allegedly became frustrated over failed potty training. He has been charged.
Audrianna Mains, 24 • May 24. Mains died after her boyfriend, Anthony Robert Vigil, allegedly ran her down with his car in Salt Lake City. Vigil has been charged.
Gildardo Toledo, 32 • May 29. Toledo was shot and killed while he was house sitting a Millcreek apartment. Richard Lawrence Trujillo, Alisha Hope Moore, Francisco Ricky Garcia and Sarah Marlen Ortiz were charged in connection with killing Toledo during a robbery.
Anthony Paul Hernandez, 36 • June 1. A passer-by found Hernandez's body off a trail near the Jordan River in Salt Lake City. Investigators said he appeared to have been shot to death. No charges have been filed.
Jaime Salazar, 34; Jordan Reeves, 2 • June 7. Before committing suicide, Johnathon Andrew Reeves shot Salazar, who was his fiancée, and their son, Jordan, in Murray.
Marco Cardenas, 22 • June 10. Cardenas was shot near a West Valley City bus stop after investigators say he and Marqus Paul James, 16, had an argument about their gang ties. The teen resolved the case by pleading guilty in both juvenile and adult court.
Shawna Smith, 26; Tylee Smith, 6; Blake Smith, 2 • June 21. Russell Smith shot his wife, Shawna Smith, and their children, Tylee and Blake, at their Roy home. He then killed himself.
Bhoti Subba, 38 • July 4. Subba was strangled at her South Salt Lake home. Dil Bahadur Magar, 25, was charged with her death.
Patrick Hicks, 32 • July 6. Hicks was shot and killed in Ogden. Andrew Dominic Esquer, 30, has been charged with his death. At some point in an argument, Hicks "disrespected" Esquer, who allegedly responded by firing a sawed-off shotgun at Hicks, according to a probable-cause statement.
Edward Walker, 57 • July 7. Walker's body was found in his Salt Lake City home. Police initially called 34-year-old Jill Rae Jensen Montoya a suspect, but have since declined to confirm that status. Investigators have not said how Walker died.
Fidenzo Urcino, 21 • July 11. Urcino was stabbed to death at a West Valley City apartment complex. Although two people were arrested, neither has been charged. Police have characterized the case as "complex."
Kailey Vijil, 12 • July 17. Vijil's body was found in a West Valley City field. A 15-year-old neighbor boy, who police say lured Vijil from her home with a story about looking for a lost cat, has been charged in juvenile court with killing her.
Steven Valdez, 63 • July 25. The West Valley City man was shot and beaten; blunt force trauma to his head was consistent with being hit with a tire iron, according to court documents. Arturo Frias-Gonzales, 24, Bernadette J. Ramirez, 47, and Eddie Elias Salazar, 41, have been charged.
Lexie Smith, 18 months • July 27. Aaron Joe Burlison, 25, was charged with manslaughter after allegedly running over Smith with his truck in a South Ogden parking lot. Burlison had vision problems and an invalid driver license at the time, according to court documents.
Maria Astorga-Chavez, 32 • Aug. 6. The West Valley City woman's body was found in a suitcase on the side of a Colorado highway. Francisco Jesus Huerta-Martinez, 34, was charged but has not been arrested.
Monica Tapia, 51 • Aug. 17. Police believe Tapia's husband, Francisco Javier Tapia, 51, shot her at their West Valley City home before killing himself.
Stevan Chambers, 26 • Aug 17. Chambers' body was found in Magna after he had been shot. Unified Police investigators have said they believe his death and that of Shelli Marie Brown are related. Police have not arrested anyone.
Shelli Marie Brown, 26 • Aug. 19. Brown was shot and killed, and her body was found at a Magna park a half-mile from where Chambers' body was found. Unified Police investigators have said they believe her death and that of Chambers are related. Police have not arrested anyone.
Corbin McGuire, 18 • Aug. 20. McGuire was riding a bike in Ogden when witnesses told police he was shot by suspects passing in a silver vehicle. As of Thursday morning, no one has been arrested.
Anthony Judy, 24 • Aug. 28. Judy was shot and killed on the Navajo Nation reservation in southeastern Utah. Raymus Whitehorse was federally indicted.
Blake Burningham, 24 • Aug. 29. Burningham died after his girlfriend's brother, 25-year-old Cole Pedersen, allegedly punched him outside a Herriman home. Pedersen was charged with manslaughter.
Fred Mustain, 38 • Sept. 6. Mustain was shot outside a half-finished house in Murray. Police have not arrested a suspect.
Horacio Mendez Sanchez, 25 • Sept. 13. Luciano Gabriel Silva, 20, was charged with allegedly shooting Sanchez while they walked near the Riverdale Parkway Trail. Silva pleaded not guilty.
Tyler Eastabrook, 31 • Sept. 15. Eastabrook was stabbed outside a Sunset apartment building. Michael Ennis, 34, was charged.
Heiki Poike, 50; Lyrik Poike, 2 months; Dakota Smith, 28 • Sept. 19. Heiki Poike, Lyrik Poike and Smith were shot in a Salt Lake City home, where they were tenants. The homeowner, 32-year-old Alexander Hung Tran, was charged.
Jerimiah James, 32 • Oct. 4. James died after his 17-year-old nephew allegedly put him in a chokehold during an alcohol-fueled fight at a Fremont home, investigators say. The teen has been charged in juvenile court.
Noelia Popoca, 39 • Oct. 11. Popoca's body was found in Manuel Roque Garcia's West Valley City mobile home, where Garcia had hanged himself. The medical examiner has yet to determine how Popoca died.
Sione Mangisi, 37 • Oct. 14. Mangisi died outside a Bountiful home after his ex-wife's boyfriend, 35-year-old Heneli (Henry) Kalainisi Kaufusi, allegedly "struck, kicked and stomped on the victim multiple times," according to charging documents. Kaufusi was charged with murder.
Russell Reed Jacobs, 47 • Oct. 29. Jacobs was shot and killed by Jesse Lyle Bruner, 34, in their Millcreek neighborhood. After Bruner allegedly tried to break into Jacobs' home, Jacobs followed him down the street. Police say Bruner shot Jacobs with a shotgun and Jacobs returned fire; both men died.
Jesse Lyle Bruner, 34 • Oct. 29. Bruner died in a shootout with a man in their Millcreek neighborhood. After Bruner allegedly tried to break into Russell Jacobs' home, Jacobs followed him down the street. Police say Bruner shot Jacobs with a shotgun and Jacobs returned fire; both men died.
Rojear Nelson, 32 • Oct. 30. The Monument Valley man was found stabbed to death along State Route 163. His brother, Rodear Nelson, 34, was found walking about a mile from the scene; he was later charged.
David Rioja, 36 • Nov. 22. Rioja was shot and killed outside his Venice home after a fight with another Venice man, William G. Muir, 39. Muir was later charged.
Marco Ibanez, 20 • Nov. 23. Ibanez was found shot to death in a Sandy home. Investigators don't know whether Ibanez lived at the house or was visiting and have yet to name a suspect.
Maranny Holiday, 62 • Nov. 30. Holiday was shot and killed on the Navajo reservation in San Juan County. The suspect surrendered after officers pursued him through the desert. San Juan County Sheriff Rick Eldridge had said the man allegedly shot the woman in a land dispute.
Kyson Cleary, 2 • Dec. 20. The Pleasant View boy died after his father, Krystopher Cleary, allegedly injured him.
Eric Carter, 49 • Dec. 22. Carter was run over and killed by a trailer while trying to stop three people from allegedly stealing it in West Valley City. Police arrested the trio on suspicion of murder. The three — Jay Richard Urry, Jesse Floyd Searle and Jeanette Teddie Miner — were later charged.
Brittany Engstrom, 27 • Dec. 28. Engstrom was found shot to death in her Orem home. Her boyfriend and the person of interest in the homicide, David Bingham Driscoll, 37, later shot himself during a standoff with police in Eagle Mountain.
Twitter: @MikeyPanda —
Utah homicides in 2015
P Of the homicides, 52 percent occurred in Salt Lake County. That is higher than at least the last couple of years • Please see A1