A 37-year-old Tooele real estate agent is facing a first-degree felony murder charge after his girlfriend was found shot to death inside her Tesla in the garage of their home, with her four children listening to the entire attack from inside the house. Daniel Ruesga was taken into custody following the shooting late Monday night, and investigators say he has admitted to intentionally crashing his truck into the woman's car before shooting her multiple times.
Tooele City Police Department officers responded to a home near 600 East and Kings Landing Road after receiving reports of shots fired just before midnight, according to KUTV. Officers arrived to find a Toyota pickup, registered to Ruesga, crashed into the back of a Tesla, with the victim, a 37-year-old woman, found dead in the driver's seat. A police booking affidavit cited by KSL.com states the fatal encounter unfolded inside the residence's garage.
Investigators say Ruesga, who was the victim's boyfriend, allegedly admitted to shooting her multiple times following an argument and told them the gun used in the shooting was left inside the vehicle. Several bullet casings were found outside the Tesla's driver-side door, per court documents. Sgt. Colbey Bentley said investigators safely took Ruesga into custody and that there is no ongoing threat to the public, adding that detectives believe the shooting was an isolated incident. The investigation into the alleged homicide remains ongoing, Bentley said.
Children Heard the Shooting From Inside the House
The victim's four children were inside the home at the time of the shooting. According to the booking affidavit cited by the same KSL.com report, the children heard the entire argument and shooting unfold from inside the house before going outside and discovering their mother dead. That detail forms the basis of four separate charges Ruesga now faces for third-degree felony domestic violence committed in the presence of a child, on top of the murder count.
Under Utah Code § 76-5-114, committing an act of domestic violence in the presence of a child during a criminal homicide is charged as a third-degree felony, carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine per count, according to the Utah Legislature. Utah law treats exposure to violence as a distinct crime whenever a child is physically present or able to hear the offense take place. A conviction on the first-degree felony murder charge alone carries a potential sentence of 15 years to life in prison, or life without parole if aggravating circumstances are proven.
A Familiar Face in Tooele's Business Community
Ruesga was booked into Tooele County Jail following his arrest. Outside of the alleged crime, records show he worked as an active real estate agent in Tooele associated with Premier Utah Real Estate and served as an ambassador for the Tooele Chamber of Commerce, according to the chamber's published roster, giving him an established public profile within the local business community before his arrest.
Domestic Violence Drives Utah's Homicide Numbers
The case adds to a pattern state officials have been tracking closely. Intimate partner and familial domestic violence is the leading cause of homicide in Utah, accounting for 51 of the state's 137 homicides — more than 37 percent — between July 2023 and January 2025, according to state data reported by Fox 13 News. In response to that trend, state law enacted in July 2023 now requires Utah officers responding to intimate partner domestic violence calls to administer a standardized lethality assessment designed to gauge homicide risk, per the Utah Department of Public Safety.
Locally, Tooele City recorded three homicides and 141 violent crimes in 2024, a violent crime rate of 349 per 100,000 residents that was slightly below the national average of 359, according to FBI data compiled by OpenCrime. That marked a 7.1 percent year-over-year drop in violent crime from 2023. Yet a 2025 study by Utah State University's Utah Women & Leadership Project found that Tooele County residents reported among the lowest levels of agreement in the state when asked whether domestic and interpersonal violence was a major problem in their immediate community, a gap between local perception and the risks state data suggest are present.
Tooele City, located roughly 35 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, is the county seat of Tooele County and has grown to more than 41,000 residents, according to 2025 U.S. Census Bureau estimates cited by the city. The case follows other recent violent incidents Hoodline has tied to shooting disputes near Tooele. No court dates or formal charging documents beyond the booking affidavit have yet been made public, and the investigation remains active.
