Illegal immigrant from Mexico suspected of murdering his Utah girlfriend was deported in December and then returned to Utah just days before her body was found in Tooele.
Talia Benward, 31, of Kearns, was last seen around 3:15 p.m. at the Maverik convenience store in West Jordan on New Year’s. Authorities found her body in a remote area of Tooele, about a 45-minute drive from West Jordan.
The Greater Salt Lake Unified Police Department said Sunday that Benward’s boyfriend, Nestor Rocha-Aguayo, 24, of Sinaloa, Mexico, was arrested in connection with Benward’s disappearance and murder.
A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Fox News Digital that Aguayo-Rocha is a Mexican national who has been removed from the United States twice.
Talia Benward, 31, of Kearns, was last seen around 3:15 p.m. at the Maverik convenience store in West Jordan on New Year’s Day. Authorities found her body in a remote area of Tooele, about a 45-minute drive from West Jordan. (Greater Salt Lake Unified Police Department)
He entered the country illegally near Calexico, Calif., on September 1, 2016. He was convicted on local charges years later, and an Enforcement and Removal Operations officer booked the detainee into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail in Utah on January 22, 2024.
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ERO officers detained him on April 2, and an immigration judge granted him voluntary departure. He returned to Mexico April 30.
Rocha-Aguayo then illegally re-entered the United States at an unknown date and location. ERO officials met with him in November at the Salt Lake County Metro Jail, where he was being held on local charges.
The Greater Salt Lake Unified Police Department said Sunday that Benward’s boyfriend, Nestor Rocha-Aguayo, a 24-year-old illegal immigrant from Sinaloa, Mexico, was arrested in connection with Benward’s disappearance and murder. (Greater Salt Lake Unified Police Department)
ERO officers took Rocha-Aguay back into custody and he returned to Mexico on December 24.
“He re-entered the U.S. a third time without permission from an immigration officer,” an ICE spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
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U.S. Marshals arrested Rocha-Aguayo on January 5 charges of aggravated murderabuse or desecration of a dead human being, aggravated robbery and other charges. ERO booked the detainee into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail the same day.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Rocha-Aguayo is a Mexican national who has been removed from the United States twice. (Greater Salt Lake Unified Police Department)
Surveillance footage apparently shows Benward pulling into a Maverik gas station in a “borrowed” vehicle on New Year’s Day and Rocha-Aguayo getting into the passenger seat, at which point “the two started pointing at each other, rolled up the windows and it seemed as if they were arguing,” the court documents obtained by him state FOX 13 Salt Lake City.
They were together for several hours before driving together to Tooele, where Benwarda’s phone stopped tracking her location as Rocha-Aguayo continued back to Salt Lake City, according to FOX 13.
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Detectives later found blood stains in the vehicle the couple had been riding in together. When they located Benward’s stick-covered remains behind bushes in a remote area of the interstate in Tooele, they also found remnants of a floor mat that matched the floor mats in the vehicle the couple was driving.
U.S. Marshals arrested Rocha-Aguayo on Jan. 5 on charges of aggravated murder, abuse or defilement of a dead human being, aggravated robbery and other charges. ERO booked the detainee into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail the same day. (Greater Salt Lake Unified Police Department)
Court documents show his previous charges from last year include robbery, aggravated assault, criminal damage to property, two counts of possession with intent to distribute, failure to stop at the command of a law enforcement officer, reckless driving, obstructing a peace officer, operating a vehicle on an unopened street , burglary, assault and unlawful imprisonment.
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He was also involved in multiple incidents of domestic violence with Benward.
Police are investigating Benward’s death as a homicide and are asking anyone with information to call 801-840-4000. Please refer to case CO25-473. Tips can remain anonymous.
