TAYLORSVILLE, Utah, May 28, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Officials have identified the 15-year-old victim of a homicide in Taylorsville Wednesday afternoon.
“Our victim of the Taylorsville homicide is Ivan Nickolas Vetecnik, “Nick,” says a Friday morning tweet from Unified Police Department. “Our deepest condolences to his family and friends.” UPD initially said the victim was 16; then updated his age as 15.
His family has also set up a GoFundMe to assist with funeral expenses. That page says: “Nick is a victim of a recent homicide that is still an ongoing investigation. He recently within the last two years lost both his parents. We would like to give this young man a proper memorial and funeral he deserves. And a beautiful final resting place in a world that is so ugly. Anything helps. If you can’t give please share. Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers.”
Officials first called the incident a suspicious death.
“Update on the suspicious death in Taylorsville yesterday,” said a tweet from Unified Police Department Thursday afternoon. “The investigation has been confirmed as a homicide. The suspect is in custody.”
Unified Police Sgt. Melody Cutler said Wednesday officers were called to 1623 Elsie Drive, east of Redwood Road at about 6000 South, at about 4:20 p.m. Wednesday after someone discovered a dead body in a cargo trailer in their back yard, Cutler told Gephardt Daily.
The person who called police was the one who found the body of the teen, Cutler said. She declined to say if there was a connection between the house and the victim.
A K-9 was called in to locate a 17-year-old boy who was believed to have some involvement in the case. Unified Police posted photos of the teen they were looking for, who goes by the name Rowdy. The boy was later found a few blocks from the scene, Cutler said.
Cutler said that despite there being “a substantial amount of blood” at the scene, there were no obvious signs of what killed the victim. An autopsy will be conducted to determine 15-year-old’s cause of death.
Gephardt Daily will have more information on the case as details become available.
