SALT LAKE CITY, April 6, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A Utah man arrested for the 2020 murder of a 23-year-old woman found beaten and naked has been sentenced to life in prison.
Jovanie Alejandro Silva, now 24, was charged with first-degree murder on Oct. 21, 2020, “for the heinous murder of 23-year-old Kaitlyn Barron in the early morning hours of September 27, 2020,” says a statement issued Thursday by the office of Salt Lake County Attorney Sim Gill.
“Yesterday, after hearing statements from the parents and friends of Ms. Barron, a Third District Court judge sentenced Mr. Silva to life without the possibility of parole (LWOP) for the brutal killing of Ms. Barron.”
A citizen informed police after seeing Barron’s body in the South Salt Lake area of 2550 South and 300 West, in a parking lot. A nearby surveillance captured the man later identified as Silva walking with the victim into an area off camera. It recorded audio, and the suspect leaving the area alone, carrying a skateboard. A blood-covered rock was found near the body of the Texas woman.
Silva’s route after leaving the parking lot was tracked through business surveillance cameras, charging documents said. When Silva was arrested at the Men’s Resource Center, he had blood stained clothing in his possession that appeared to match what the victim had been recorded wearing, his probable cause statement says.
“Mr. Silva took Ms. Barron’s life in the early morning hours with no one around to hear her screams for help,” Gill said in a released statement. “He took advantage of a known acquaintance who could not fight off his attacks. We applaud the judge for delivering a sentence of life without the possibility of parole that will ensure Mr. Silva will never be back on Salt Lake County streets again.
“We would like to thank Breanne Miller, Fred Burmester, and Brittany Krueger for leading the prosecution team that has now put Mr. Silva in prison for the rest of his life. We would also like to acknowledge our partners at the South Salt Lake Police Department for their thorough investigation including extensive canvassing to collect the necessary surveillance footage to help make this conviction possible.”
