Police issue Amber alert for 2 kids after finding their mom stabbed to death in Utah home
Police issue Amber alert for 2 kids after finding their mom stabbed to death in Utah home
A man who prompted an Amber Alert for his two children in northern Utah has been arrested in the stabbing death of their mother.
Ricardo Trujillo Rojel, 30, was arrested in Weber County on Monday night after 23-year-old Mayra Catalan-Dima was found dead in a home that had been set on fire, the Riverdale Police Department said. He faces charges of aggravated murder, aggravated arson and obstruction of justice.
Officers found Catalan-Dimas with a severe puncture wound to the neck and burn marks at a mobile home park in Riverdale, according to an arrest affidavit. She was pronounced dead at the scene, where a fire was set using gasoline.
Trujillo was booked Monday at the Weber County Jail in Ogden, Utah where he is being held without bail, inmate records show.
Trujillo's attorney, Randy Kennard II, did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment Friday.
Here's what police say happened.
Amber Alert issued after children were missing
When officers arrived at the fire around 2:45 p.m. Monday, they deemed Catalan-Dima's death as suspicious and noticed the couple's two children, ages 2 and 3, were missing.
An Amber Alert was soon issued and lasted until around 8 p.m., when a witness spotted Trujillo and the kids about 80 miles south in Springville, Utah, police said.
Rojel resisted arrest and assaulted an officer before he was arrested and booked into the Weber County Jail, police said.
The children were placed under the care of other family members.
Catalan-Dima's parents said that their daughter had plans to move out of the trailer on Monday before the tragedy occurred, according to police. Her mother said she had been with Catalan-Dima at the bank earlier that day when Trujillo asked her over the phone to return home.
Trujillo attends first court appearance Friday
Trujillo made his first court appearance Friday morning virtually at the Ogden District Court, where his three criminal charges were read to him, according to local news station KUTV.
At the hearing, a judge granted him a no-contact order, legally prohibiting him from communicating with his two children or those taking care of them, KUTV reported.
His next hearing is set for Wednesday, when Trujillo will appear before a judge who will determine whether to hold a preliminary hearing.
Trujillo previously arrested on domestic violence suspicion
Earlier this year officers arrested Trujillo on suspicion of domestic violence while under the influencer of methamphetamine, court records show.
Trujillo was accused of breaking a window at the same trailer home on Jan. 18, when records show he damaged picture frames and shoved other items around the floor in front of his children.
He was later charged with two misdemeanors, including possession or use of a controlled substance and property damage or destruction.
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USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
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Whitney Decker had reported the children missing on May 30 after they left their central Washington home to visit their father. On June 2, a Chelan County deputy found an unoccupied truck at about 3:45 p.m. local time near the Rock Island Campground. Officers found the bodies of the missing girls soon after, down a small embankment, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by USA TODAY. While Travis Decker was nowhere to be found, investigators traced his cell phone, which revealed that he visited the same campground the day before the kidnapping, the court documents show. Travis Decker is wanted on charges of kidnapping, first-degree murder, and custodial interference in connection with the deaths, according to the Wenatchee Police Department. In an update on June 4, Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison said Travis Decker may have scoped out a hiding location before going off the grid using his extensive military and outdoor survival training. Contributing: Natalie Neysa Alund, Anthony Robledo, and Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY
USA Today
2 hours ago
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