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A West Valley City man accused in the December death of his girlfriend — whose body was found at the bottom of a stairwell several hours after the couple had argued — has resolved his case with a plea deal.

Juan Salvador Velasquez-Trujillo, 52, of West Valley City, was charged in 3rd District Court with second-degree felony manslaughter in the death of 61-year-old Haydee Suriano, of California.

On Wednesday, Velasquez-Trujillo pleaded guilty to class A misdemeanor negligent homicide — admitting he caused Suriano's death "while acting with criminal negligence," but not explaining how her death occurred.

Deputy Salt Lake County District Attorney Rob Parrish told The Tribune on Wednesday that the couple had argued and that the defendant was the last one to see Suriano alive, "but we couldn't prove how she got there [at the bottom of the stairs]."

Judge Ann Boyden gave Velasquez-Trujillo credit for seven months served at the Salt Lake County jail and released him to the custody of immigration authorities, who are expected to deport him to El Salvador, his country of birth.

On the afternoon of Dec. 18, 2016, West Valley City police were called to 6961 W. Hunter Pine Circle (3290 South), where a housemate of the defendant had discovered Suriano's body. Evidence at the scene — including dried blood on her face — indicated she had been dead for several hours, according to charging documents.

A witness living at the home told investigators that the night before, Velasquez-Trujillo had begun arguing with Suriano, who had traveled from San Francisco to spend time with Velasquez-Trujillo. Suriano asked to be taken to a hotel, but Velasquez-Trujillo allegedly refused, charges state.

Another resident reported that at about 10 p.m. that night, there was a loud bang, "sounding like something being hit with a large piece of wood or someone throwing a brick on the ground." That was followed by the sound of someone vomiting or struggling to breathe, according to charges.

Velasquez-Trujillo told police that Suriano had come to Utah to stay with him for a few weeks. But after they argued "over something on [his] cell phone," Suriano packed her belongings and left their bedroom.

Velasquez-Trujillo claimed that was the last time he saw her.

Investigators later found that Suriano had posted to her Facebook account shortly after the argument that she was breaking up with Velasquez-Trujillo.

An autopsy determined Suriano suffered blunt force trauma to the head, though the precise cause of her injuries — which included a skull fracture — remained undetermined, charges state.

Parrish said Wednesday that Suriano's family "wished Velasquez-Trujillo was going to prison. They are convinced he did something to cause their mother's death, but they understood that our ability to prove it was something different."

Parrish said that Suriano's daughter, Mirella Suriano, told the judge what their mother meant to the family, including that she was "lost" without her "best friend."

Parrish said Haydee Suriano had been seeing the defendant for about a year and had been to Utah before to visit.