Illegal Migrant Charged with Murdering Girlfriend in Utah After Second Deportation
Utah – An illegal immigrant from Mexico has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend in Utah, just one week after being deported from the US for a second time, according to authorities.
Nestor Rocha-Aguayo, 24, is accused of killing 31-year-old Talia Benward and abandoning her body in a remote location near Tooele, outside Salt Lake City, last week. Surveillance footage reportedly shows the couple arguing inside a car shortly before the murder.
Rocha-Aguayo, who has a criminal history including drug-related and domestic violence charges, had been deported twice, most recently on Christmas Eve following a drug-related arrest. However, he managed to reenter the US illegally just days before the killing, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson confirmed.
According to ICE, Rocha-Aguayo initially crossed the border illegally in September 2016 near Calexico, California. His criminal record led to his first arrest in Salt Lake City in January of the previous year, prompting his detention by ICE. Despite being ordered to leave the country by an immigration judge in April, he managed to re-enter the US again and was arrested on local charges in November. After being transferred to ICE, he was deported once more on December 17, only to return illegally again before the murder.
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Authorities said Rocha-Aguayo recently contacted Benward to let her know he had returned to Utah and asked her to pick him up. Surveillance footage from New Year’s Day captured Benward arriving at a gas station in a borrowed car, where Rocha-Aguayo entered the passenger seat. The video reportedly showed them arguing before they drove off toward Tooele.
Several hours later, Benward’s phone stopped transmitting her location, while Rocha-Aguayo continued to Salt Lake City. Her body was found on Saturday in a remote area near the location where her phone last pinged. Nearby, investigators found a burn pit with remnants of a car floor mat and bloodstained rocks.
Rocha-Aguayo was arrested and charged with aggravated murder, abuse or desecration of a dead human being, and aggravated robbery. He is being held at the Salt Lake County Metro Jail, with ICE placing another detainer on him.
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