Editor’s note: This article contains graphic, violent details that may be upsetting. Reader discretion is advised.
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 6, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — Court documents released in the arrest of Nestor Oved Rocha-Aguayo for the alleged murder of girlfriend Talia Lee Benward reveal the chain of events that led to the discovery of Benward’s battered remains and the arrest of Rocha-Aguayo as he attempted to flee to Mexico by bus.
Benward’s body was found Saturday in Tooele County, covered by a pile of sagebrush, near a burn pit, says an arrest document filed for Rocha-Aguayo, 24, of West Valley City.
Benward, 31, was partially clothed, and had significant damage to her face and neck, as well as scratches officials believe were defensive wounds on her arms and chest, the probable cause statement says.
Rocha-Aguayo was arrested for investigation of:
- Aggravated murder, a first-degree felony
- Tampering with evidence, a first-degree felony
- Aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony
- Receive or transfer stolen vehicle, a second-degree felony
- Abuse or desecration of a dead human body, a third-degree felony
- Attempted escape, a third-degree felony
- Tampering with evidence, a class A misdemeanor
- Fail to stop at command of law enforcement, a class A misdemeanor
- Attempted fail to stop at command of law enforcement, a class B misdemeanor
Timeline
Unified Police officials received a report on Thursday, Jan. 2, that Kearns resident Benward, last seen a day earlier, had borrowed a car but had not returned it or been seen by other family members, the police statement says.
“Investigators learned from family Talia has been dating an adult male, Nestor Rocha-Aguayo … whom Talia had several domestic violence incidents with. Investigators learned Nestor had been deported on 12/24/2024 but had recently been contacting Talia, telling her he had come back to Utah.”
The car’s owner said “Talia had been in communication with Nestor but when family had confronted Nestor about seeing Talia, he had denied seeing her at all on 01/01/2025. Investigators obtained a warrant to search Talia’s iPad and found conversations with Nestor asking Talia to come and pick him up at the Maverik in West Jordan on 01/01/2025.”
Surveillance video shows Benward arriving in the borrowed vehicle on Jan. 1, and Rocha-Aguayo getting into the passenger side of the car at 3:25 p.m. Jan. 1.
“The two can be seen greeting each other and appeared to be acting normal. The video showed their movements eventually became sharp, they began pointing at each other, they rolled up their windows and it appeared as if they were arguing,” the Unified Police officer’s statement says.
Phone records obtained from Benward and Rocha-Aguayo’s providers showed the two remained in Salt Lake County for about an hour, then stopped at a second Maverik before heading to Tooele County. They remained in Tooele County for about 28 minutes before only Rocha-Aguayo’s phone was tracked returning to Salt Lake County.
Benward’s phone was tracked to an area just off a roadway.
Rocha-Aguayo’s phone was tracked to a Kearns address, where detectives located the borrowed vehicle. It was found to have blood, later confirmed to be human, on the outside of the rear passenger door. A warranted search revealed blood on the back rear passenger seat and on the floor, and on a missing floor mat. The trunk “smelled heavily of gasoline, but there were no signs of a gas containers,” the affidavit says.
A taxi company later confirmed picking up Rocha-Aguayo from the area where the borrowed, blood-stained car was found.
Finding Benward
On Saturday, Unified Police detectives traveled to the Tooele County area where the phones were last recorded together, and found a burn pit containing a partially burned floor mat and rocks stained with blood, the affidavit says.
Weber County Sheriff rescue and cadaver dogs were called in, and one indicated on a pile of sagebrush covered with sticks, the statement says. A deceased female, later identified as Benward, was found.
“Once uncovered, the substantial trauma to Talia’s face and neck and other portions of her body were observed. Talia had scratches and bruises throughout the top portion of her arms and chest, which appeared to be defensive wounds. Talia had marks indicating she had been dragged and other injuries that appeared to have occurred after she was already deceased. Talia was not fully clothed, and was missing her pants and shoes.”
Pursuing Rocha-Aguayo
On Saturday, law enforcement “conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle with the knowledge that it was occupied by Nestor,” the affidavit says. “Officers tried to take Nestor into custody using a taser deployment, but Nestor was able to flee custody.”
On Sunday, “US Marshals were able to obtain information that Nestor was onboard an International Travel Bus headed to Mexico. Marshals attempted to take Nestor into custody again and he tried to flee a second time and was forcefully taken into custody. Nestor while in custody attempted to jump from a moving vehicle while being transported.”
A UPD news conference Sunday night revealed the bus was stopped in Fillmore, Utah, at about 7:30 p.m.
The charging document notes that “Nestor was charged and convicted of Domestic Violence Felony 3 Burglary of a Dwelling on 10/21/2024, which is currently a warrant. Nestor’s prior charges were domestic violence charges pressed where Talia was the victim and the charges have gone to warrant after the conviction.”
Court records show that Rocha-Aguayo was ordered held without bail.
