This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
The last of five people was charged Friday with aggravated kidnapping in connection with a Salt Lake City missing person case turned homicide.
Allison Wells, 37, was charged in 3rd District Court with aggravated kidnapping, a first degree felony, in the disappearance of 38-year-old Jason Nakonechni. A week earlier Rodney Neil Maxwell, 35, was charged with the same crime, as were Marilee JoAnn Borden, 43, Corey Lee Petersen, 53, and Michael Shaine Snyder, 40, before that.
A warrant for Wells indicates she is "possibly a material witness to a murder," and a warrant issued for Maxwell states he is "being investigated possibly for homicide."
A scheduling conference is set for Dec. 16 for Borden, Petersen and Snyder.
On Sept. 4, Nakonechni was lured to a motel in Salt Lake County, where he was beaten, and then taken to a West Valley City home, for another beating and robbery, according to court and jail booking documents. Later, he was allegedly taken to a location in Tooele County, where he was killed.
Police located Nakonechni's body in Tooele County on Nov. 21 with the help of the suspects, said Salt Lake City police Detective Richard Chipping.
Petersen seemed to believe Nakonechni owed him money, the documents said, which was allegedly the reason for the dispute.
Nakonechni was reported missing by his mother Sept. 18. She had last seen him Sept. 2, and his car was found abandoned and on fire in Salt Lake City on Sept. 5, charges state.
Detectives reviewed Nakonechni's social media sites and found he had made plans to meet Borden at a motel Sept. 4 at about 12:40 a.m., charges state.
Police later confirmed that Borden had rented a room that night, and the motel manager told officers that there had been several complaints of a loud fight in the room. But when the manager went to the room at 1:02 a.m., it was unoccupied, charges state.
Borden later told police that she met Nakonechni at the motel and took him to a room where several other people were waiting, unbeknown to Nakonechni, according to charges.
Booking documents indicate that Wells helped Borden lure Nakonechni to the motel room, where Wells, Snyder and Maxwell were "lying in wait" and "immediately attacked" Nakonechni when he entered the room, documents say.
"Nakonechni nearly broke away and escaped the room, however he was pulled back into the room," where he was "violently beaten, resulting in blood loss and the loss of several teeth," charges state.
Borden said the attackers then indicated they were taking Nakonechni to Petersen's home in West Valley City to "get it straightened out," charges state.
Cellphone records obtained by police show Maxwell was communicating with Petersen, using the cell tower that services the motel. A short time later, Maxwell was again talking to Petersen, this time utilizing the cell tower that services the area near Petersen's home, charges state.
At the West Valley City residence, Nakonechni was further assaulted and robbed of his money, car and dog, according to booking documents.
A witness who was staying at Petersen's home later told police that Sept. 5, he saw Nakonechni, who had obvious injuries, sitting in a chair in the kitchen, charges state.
The witness said that in the past, Petersen had claimed that Nakonechni owed him money, charges state.
Another witness staying at Petersen's home later told police that the injured man told Petersen that "he didn't steal anything," charges state, and Petersen told the injured man to shut up, charges state.
During another review of Nakonechni's social media sites, police located messages between him and Petersen. Messages from May 2016 detail a dispute between the two in which Petersen accused Nakonechni of owing him money, charges state.
Jail booking documents state that "after an extended confrontation [at the West Valley City home] the victim was taken to a remote location and killed by Wells' boyfriend."
Twitter: @mnoblenews