2nd person arrested in connection with body found dumped in rural Summit County

PARK CITY — Two people have been arrested in connection with the discovery of a body in a rural area of Summit County a week ago. But the investigation into which person killed the victim remained ongoing as of Friday.

Reina Chavez-Sandobal, 41, was booked into the Summit County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of abuse or desecration of a dead body and obstruction of justice. Police say Chavez-Sandobal is the wife of the victim and, along with her boyfriend, participated in killing and dumping her husband’s body.

On Thursday, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office requested the public’s help in finding 31-year-old Francisco Alejandro Santos-Morales, Chavez-Sandobal’s boyfriend. According to a police booking affidavit, he was found at his home in Layton early Friday. Santos-Morales was also arrested for investigation of abuse or desecration of a dead body and obstruction of justice and claimed that it was Chavez-Sandobal who killed her husband.

“During an interview with Mr. Santos-Morales, he disclosed that the other suspect was the individual who had fatally struck the victim in this case and had asked Mr. Santos-Morales to help dispose of the decedent’s remains. Mr. Santos-Morales disclosed that he did help transport the decedent to the location where his remains were abandoned and did not report the incident to law enforcement,” the affidavit states.

About 1:40 p.m. on March 26, the sheriff’s office responded “to a rural area near the intersection of Browns Canyon Road and High View Road, on reports of human remains that were covered in blood.”

Deputies found a deceased male with “a traumatic wound to the forehead.” An autopsy the next day “showed signs of blunt force trauma to the victim’s skull and brain,” according to a second police booking affidavit. The name of the victim has not yet been released.

Investigators say it appeared that the victim “had been dragged to the location from a roadway and abandoned,” the affidavit says. Detectives were able to find video from a nearby security camera that showed a vehicle arriving about 2:20 a.m. on that day, and “an unknown number of individuals removed the deceased male from the vehicle and left his remains in the area before fleeing.”

After identifying the victim, investigators contacted his relatives in North Carolina.

“While speaking with family members, investigators were advised that the victim’s wife, who lives in Utah, had contacted them and advised them the victim was fine and they should not be worried about his welfare. As investigators were speaking with family members, the family members informed the victim’s wife that they were currently speaking with law enforcement who had advised them of the victim’s passing. It was then advised the victim’s wife quickly hung up the phone,” the affidavit states.

The wife, Chavez-Sandobal, was located in Midvale. She claimed that on March 25, her husband “had become physically abusive with her and had attempted to sexually assault her.” She said that’s when she contacted a man whom police described as “her boyfriend” who went to her home and “assaulted the victim as he slept,” according to the affidavit.

Chavez-Sandobal says she and the boyfriend then loaded her husband’s body into a car and drove him to the area where his remains were found, the affidavit alleges. “Ms. Chavez-Sandobal then described where a hammer, which is believed to be the murder weapon, had been concealed within her residence.”

The hammer and a blanket covered with the victim’s blood were both recovered by investigators. Police say both Chavez-Sandobal and Santos-Morales are not a U.S. citizens.