SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Nov. 30, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — Salt Lake City police have taken into custody the suspect in the homicide that occurred Tuesday morning at the Gateway Inn in Salt Lake City, officials said Thursday morning.
The man is in custody on unrelated charges at this time. Once formal charges have been filed his identity will be released, the Salt Lake City Police Department said in a news release.
Two persons of interest, Kristie Marie Hansen and Javier Rodriguez Pena, are still outstanding. Police are asking for the public’s help in locating these two people. Their involvement in this case still needs to be clarified through interviews.
The victim was identified as Mechelle Lindberg, 25, police said Wednesday morning.
The department initially said they were investigating the case as a “suspicious death,” but they later amended that to say the case was being treated as a homicide.
Just after 8:40 a.m., Lindberg was found in one of the rooms of the Gateway Inn, at 819 W. North Temple, SLCPD Detective Greg Wilking told Gephardt Daily.
The manner in which she died was unknown at the time, but Wilking said it was “not a natural death.”
SLCPD later released the names and photos of Hansen, 26, and Pena, 29, who are considered “persons of interest” in the case.
Wilking said that as the investigation unfolded, it was learned that Pena and Hansen were in the area with the victim.
Although Pena and Hansen “haven’t been elevated to the level of suspects,” the public is advised not to approach the two, but to just call police if they are seen.
The Police Department asks anyone who may know the identity and/or location of the persons of interest to call 801-799-3000. Anonymous tips may be sent by text to 274637. Please start your text with TIPSLCPD, which routes it to the police department. Then include any relevant information. Reference: case #17-224975.
Gephardt Daily will have more on this developing story as information becomes available.
