Woman Heard on Camera Begging Assailant Not to Harm Her Is Found Beaten to Death, Man Arrested
Her plaintive cries pierced the night, as she screamed, “Please don’t rape me!”
It was only after the sun came up that the partially clothed body of the young woman who spent her last moments begging for her life was found crumpled in a parking lot in Salt Lake, Utah.
On Sept. 28, police in South Salt Lake were called to a back parking lot at 2550 South 300 West in South Salt Lake City, Utah, about a report of a deceased, partially clothed female, the department says in a statement.
The woman has been identified as Kaitlyn Barron, 23, of San Antonio, Texas, The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Barron “had been severely beaten” and was an “obvious victim to a homicide,” the statement says.
She was also the “potential victim of rape,” according to a probable cause statement, Fox 13 Now reports.
Surveillance footage from cameras in the area shows a man carrying a skateboard and a woman walking toward the parking lot at about 4:30 a.m. on Sept. 27, Fox 13 Now reports.
The two can be seen walking toward the back of the parking lot before moving out of view of the cameras.
She can then be heard on the recorded audio portion of the footage screaming, “Please don’t hurt me” or “Please don’t rape me,” the probable cause statement says, The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Moments later, “an impact/popping” sound can allegedly be heard, when police say they believe Barron was being “struck over and over by a large stone that was found at the scene, covered in blood,” the probable cause statement says, The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
The screams stopped, but the sound of the pounding kept going, the probable cause statement says.
The man who was carrying the skateboard was seen leaving the area a little after 5 a.m., surveillance footage shows, according to the probable cause statement.
Surveillance footage from other businesses in the area showed the man heading into the Men’s Homeless Resource Center on S. 1000 West, the probable cause statement says, Fox 13 Now reports.
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On Saturday, investigators served a search warrant on the man’s personal items and retrieved some of his clothing, the probable cause statement shows, Deseret News reports.
Police identified Jovanie Silva,22, as the homicide suspect, police say in the statement.
According to charging documents, Silva had in his possession underwear with bloodstains, Fox 13 Now reports.
He was arrested on Saturday and charged with murder.
He is being held without bail in the Salt Lake County Jail. It is unclear whether he has retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
He refused to speak to investigators, Fox 13 Now reports.
He has not yet entered a plea.
It is unclear whether Silva and Barron knew each other.
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