Latest news with #RicardoTrujilloRojel
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
Suspect in AMBER Alert murder case makes second court appearance
Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. OGDEN, Utah () — The suspect who was apprehended after an AMBER Alert last Monday made his second court appearance on April 2. Ricardo Trujillo Rojel, 29, is accused of aggravated murder and aggravated arson after attacking a mother, setting the trailer on fire, and fleeing with her two children. Ricardo Trujillo Rojel appeared in today, where defense attorneys discussed setting a preliminary hearing for his case. Rojel is accused of murdering Mayra Catalan-Dimas, 23, who was found dead in a burning Riverdale trailer on March 24. According to arrest documents, she was found with a . Judge Cristina Ortega spoke with Stephanie Pitcher, Rojel's attorney, about his previous misdemeanor case involving property damage. After a discussion with Rojel through an interpreter, Pitcher agreed to withdraw from that case and it will now be handled by the same attorneys defending his felony murder case. The preliminary hearing date for the felony murder case has been set for May 12 at 9 a.m. PREVIOUSLY: Mother of AMBER Alert children found dead with neck wound in burning house, docs say The prosecutors — Nicholas Caine and Derek Malan — then clarified an order that was signed last Friday. The order reads, 'Any defense investigator, mitigation specialist, or expert witness for Defense is allowed to contact the alleged victim's family members.' They clarified that this order did not require the family members to speak with investigators for the defense, and family members would have the right to refuse. Prosecutors also requested that the juvenile in the family not be contacted. On Monday, March 24, an AMBER Alert went out, reporting that and had been abducted by a 'possible homicide and arson suspect.' The described the suspect and asked the public for help. Later that evening, a caller reported seeing a truck matching the description of the suspect vehicle in Hobble Creek Canyon, and Utah County Sheriff's Office deputies responded. Rojel was taken into custody, and the two children were safely recovered. READ NEXT: Nurse arrested after allegedly assaulting dementia patient The next day, two felony against Rojel: Aggravated murder and aggravated arson. After an interview at the , Rojel reportedly told investigators that he had been in an 'altercation' with the mother, which had led to him harming her, setting fire to the trailer, and fleeing with the two children. 'The defendant further admitted that he stabbed [the victim] and threw the knife out of the window while he was driving south on the freeway,' charging documents read. Rojel will appear in court on May 12 at 9 a.m. for his preliminary hearing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Yahoo
Man accused of killing his children's mother and setting her trailer on fire before snatching the kids
A Utah man has been accused of killing the mother of his children and setting her home on fire before snatching their young children. Deputies with the Utah County Sheriff's Office arrested Ricardo Trujillo Rojel, 29, on charges of aggravated murder and aggravated arson on Monday. Authorities were first alerted to the situation shortly before an area amber alert was issued for the two children. The mother's body was found inside a burning trailer in the Riverdale Manufactured Home Community in Riverdale, about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City. Officials responded to the fire at 2:46 p.m. on Monday. "The trailer was filled with smoke, and the responding officer saw a female laying on the ground near the doorway,' a police booking affidavit obtained by stated. 'The female victim had severe burn marks on her body.' Deputies suspected homicide could've played a factor in the woman's death when they pulled her body out of the burning structure and observed a puncture wound on her neck. It appeared the wound was made with a sharp object, the outlet reported. A pair of blue jeans nearby also had blood on them and investigators located a gas can inside the trailer. Around 5:15 p.m., officials issued an Amber Alert for the woman's two children, who are 2 and 3 years old. Officials say Trujillo abducted them. Around 7:30 p.m., officials received a tip stating a man and two children were seen walking away from a truck toward Hobble Creek Canyon, a recreational area near Springville. Sheriff's deputies responded, recovered the children, and took Trujillo into custody. The children have been placed with family members. Trujillo resisted arrest and assaulted an officer, police said, adding blood was found inside his vehicle. He continued to resist arrest upon arriving at Weber County Jail. According to the outlet, neighbors reportedly told police the man and woman were moving out of the trailer on Monday. One neighbor told officials they'd heard the woman scream shortly before police arrived on the scene. Other neighbors said the couple was in the process of moving out of the structure on the day of the fire. They were planning to move to Roy, a city in Weber County, police said. Earlier in the day, the woman had gone to the bank with her mother, who lives in the same trailer park. At the bank, the man called the woman and told her to return home. The victim drove home after the phone call, the mother told police, adding it was the last time she spoke to her daughter. Trujillo had previously served a 180-day sentence after being convicted of choking and punching his pregnant girlfriend in 2021.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Yahoo
Mother of AMBER Alert children found dead with neck wound in burning house, docs say
Support for victims and survivors of domestic violence is available 24/7: 1-800-897-LINK (5465). If you or someone else is in immediate danger, or in an emergency, please call 911 immediately. RIVERDALE, Utah () — The mother of the two children that were the was reportedly found with a puncture wound in her neck after her house was set on fire. This is according to new court documents following the arrest of the children's father, Ricardo Trujillo Rojel, 29, on first-degree felony charges of aggravated murder and aggravated arson. Police responded to the structure fire near 5100 South and 1000 West shortly before 3 p.m. on March 24. Upon arriving, officers found the victim with severe burns and a puncture wound to her neck. Investigators ruled her cause of death a homicide and found the fire had been started using an accelerant. Cows struck after wandering onto I-15 in Utah County Witnesses say Rojel, the victim and their children were set to move out of the home that day. One neighbor allegedly heard a woman scream sometime before officers arrived for the structure fire. Shortly after, when Rojel and the two children could not be found, the AMBER Alert was issued. Rojel's truck was later found a quarter-mile up from Hobble Creek Canyon and witnesses reported seeing an adult male walking away from the truck with two children. Local police agencies located Rojel, who allegedly resisted arrest and assaulted an officer. He was eventually safely taken into custody and booked into the Weber County Jail. '[Rojel] was the last person known to be with the victim on this date,' court documents read. '[He] turned off his phone and left his vehicle with his two young children to an area that was over an hour away from home when he was supposed to be moving to Roy with the victim.' Police said Rojel was uncooperative with law enforcement and would not speak. Rojel allegedly has a history with the victim involving domestic violence, including an arrest in January for multiple domestic violence charges. Rojel has been ordered to be held without bail, pending a pretrial hearing. The two children were safely recovered and taken into custody by the Department of Child and Family Services at the Utah County Sheriff's Office. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Yahoo
Riverdale man arrested after Amber Alert accused of aggravated murder
A man at the center of a Monday Amber Alert was arrested for investigation of aggravated murder and aggravated arson in the death of the mother of his two children. Ricardo Trujillo Rojel, 29, is accused of killing the woman whose body was found inside a burning trailer at the Riverdale Manufactured Home Community, 1050 W. 5100 South. Dispatchers received reports of a trailer on fire at 2:46 p.m. Monday. A responding police officer found the front door of the trailer ajar. "The trailer was filled with smoke, and the responding officer saw a female laying on the ground near the doorway. The female victim had severe burn marks on her body," according to a police booking affidavit. When the officer pulled her body out of the burning trailer and onto the porch, "he observed a puncture wound to her neck which appeared to be from a sharp object and it was determined the death was a homicide," the affidavit states. Investigators at the scene "found the fire was caused by an accelerant and a gas can was located inside of the trailer," according to the affidavit. Police also reported finding a pair of blue jeans with blood on them. An Amber Alert was issued at 5:15 p.m., saying the woman's two young children, ages 2 and 3, were believed to have been abducted by their father, Trujillo, and were in danger. Trujillo's truck was seen on a license plate reader in Spanish Fork at 3:12 p.m., the affidavit says, and a citizen later reported the F-150 truck parked up Springville Canyon where they "observed a male walking with two young children." Blood was found inside his truck, according to police. Trujillo was taken into custody, and police say he "resisted arrest and assaulted an officer," then "continued to physically resist deputies at Weber County Jail" and was "uncooperative with CSI and a blood technician when he was served with warrants," according to the arrest report. The children were safe and were placed with family members. Neighbors told police that Trujillo and the woman were moving out of the trailer on Monday, and one neighbor saw the couple on the porch in the morning. "Another neighbor stated she heard a female scream sometime before officers arrived at the structure fire," the affidavit states. The victim and her mother, who lives in the same trailer park, went to the bank at around noon and "while at the bank (Trujillo) called the victim and told her to come back home. The victim's mother stated that the victim drove back home after the phone call with Ricardo. The mother did not speak to the victim again," the affidavit says. It is unclear what Trujillo was doing hiking with the children in Spanish Fork, but police say he had turned his phone off and went to an area "over an hour away from home when he was supposed to be moving to Roy with the victim," according to the affidavit. Trujillo was sentenced to 180 days in prison in 2021 for an assault conviction related to choking and punching his girlfriend who was pregnant, according to court documents.
