A suspect has been apprehended in connection with the death of Talia Benward, a Kearns woman reported missing and later found dead. Unified Police Department, with assistance from the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office, arrested 24-year-old Nestor Rocha-Aguayo in Fillmore, Utah. As reported by ABC4, Rocha-Aguayo was intercepted while on a bus en route to Mexico around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, according to Sgt. Aymee Race, spokesperson for UPD.
In a chilling discovery early Friday morning, search teams found Benward’s body in a remote part of Tooele County, as detailed by KUTV. The body has since been sent to the Office of the Medical Examiner for autopsy with preliminary indications of blunt force trauma and trauma to the neck. Race said that the suspect was being actively questioned while in custody, expressing gratitude for the public's assistance, "Speaks volumes to the community we have here in Utah ... We are indebted."
Detectives from the Unified Police, alongside K9 units from Salt Lake City Police and Weber County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, braved tough conditions to search. The operation took place in "near total darkness and frigid snowy conditions," according to FOX13. UPD has been investigating the case as homicide and the rapid apprehension of the suspect marked a swift response to the tragic outcome.
