A quiet stretch of road in the Town of Grafton that turned into a homicide scene last year now has a conviction attached to it. An Ozaukee County jury on Tuesday found 34‑year‑old Miguel Aponte guilty in the 2023 killing of a man whose body was discovered inside a rental car, closing the book on the trial phase of a case that started with a deputy checking on a parked sedan, as reported by FOX6 Milwaukee.
Jurors convicted Aponte of first‑degree intentional homicide and felony bail jumping and acquitted him on a charge that he tried to mutilate the body. Authorities said evidence from inside the vehicle, along with cellphone and vehicle location data, tied him to the scene. Sentencing is set for March.
Jury hands down guilty verdict
The verdict, returned Tuesday in Ozaukee County, found Aponte guilty of first‑degree intentional homicide and felony bail jumping and not guilty of attempting to mutilate a corpse, with prosecutors later dismissing a false‑imprisonment count, according to FOX6 Milwaukee. Court records cited by the station show the case began after a deputy came across a body inside a parked rental vehicle in March 2023.
Evidence investigators say linked him to the car
Prosecutors told jurors that DNA collected from the interior of the rental car matched Aponte. They also pointed to cellphone and vehicle data that, they said, helped lay out the victim’s movements on the night before the body was found. Reporting at the time noted that the victim’s phone and vehicle records traced a route from O’Hare International Airport toward the Milwaukee area that evening, and investigators used that digital trail as part of their case. Local reporting also described soot on the car’s windows that investigators said matched a short‑lived interior fire at the scene.
How the body was discovered
A deputy patrolling County Highway C south of Tallgrass Drive spotted a white Chevrolet Malibu on March 4, 2023 and found the victim in the back seat with tape over his mouth and binding marks on his wrists, according to local coverage. The man was later identified as 49‑year‑old Laeng Sanavongsay. The Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office said the victim had a gunshot wound to the head and that the vehicle, which had Michigan plates, had been rented in Illinois, per WISN. Investigators characterized the killing as targeted and said there was no wider threat to the public.
Next steps and sentencing
Sentencing for Aponte is scheduled for March in Ozaukee County Circuit Court, according to reporting on the verdict. Prosecutors first charged him last September after DNA from the rental vehicle was entered into the national database, and investigators secured cell‑tower and vehicle data that they say placed the car and the victim in overlapping locations the night before he was found.
Community context and court record
Residents at the time of the original discovery described the area as remote, and investigators said they worked with state and federal partners during the multi‑state probe. Initial coverage of the arrest and charging documents highlighted the DNA match and the detailed location‑data timeline that prosecutors say drove the case forward. With the jury’s decision now on the books, court records show the matter shifting into the sentencing phase in March.
