SALT LAKE CITY— A Utah teen is facing 25 years to life in prison after he stabbed his friend more than 30 times, chopped up part of his body and then dumped the remains in a cargo trailer.
Rowdy Lee Aguilar, now 21, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder with a mental health condition in the death of 15-year-old Ivan Vetecnik, according to a press release from the Salt Lake County District Attorney.
Aguilar was 17-years-old when he murdered Vetecnik, Law & Crime reported.
Prosecutors said surveillance video showed the two friends going into Aguilar's home around 10:00 a.m. on the day of the murder. More than three hours later, Aguilar walked out of the home alone with a blood-soaked shirt. He then went to a nearby business carrying garbage bags.
Aguilar's father called police later that day when he found Vetecnik's body in the trailer, which "smelled strongly of cleaning agents," police said. Investigators recovered a bloody leather glove and a knife inside the trailer, along with the remains. Other body parts were recovered behind the home.
The medical examiner determined that Vetecnik had been stabbed 26 times in the head, and at one point, the knife had penetrated the skull. Ultimately, the knife struck the internal carotid.
Initially, Aguilar denied even knowing Vetecnik and claimed he was at his girlfriend's house all day. He had cuts on his hands, which he claimed came from slicing ribs for barbecue.
The defendant eventually admitted to killing his friend, saying, "I did it." Investigators never publicly revealed his motive for the attack.
However, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said that Aguilar may have been dealing with mental illness or drug psychosis when he committed the murder, ABC4 reported.
"We let the defendant plead guilty, but mentally ill as part of this disposition. It accurately kind of captures the time when this happened, but it is not going to detract away from the sentence that's going to be available," Gill said.
Because Aguilar was 17 when he committed the murder, he was charged as a minor and cannot fact the death penalty or life in prison. Aguilar will remain at a youth facility until he is 25 before being moved to the adult prison, where he will serve the remainder of his sentence. His sentencing is scheduled for December 5.
In a Facebook post, Vetecnik's sister said that the guilty plea felt like a win. "But at the end of the day no amount of time in prison will ever be enough! He took my baby brother in the worst way possible!"
Rowdy Lee Aguilar, now 21, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder with a mental health condition in the death of 15-year-old Ivan Vetecnik, according to a press release from the Salt Lake County District Attorney.
Aguilar was 17-years-old when he murdered Vetecnik, Law & Crime reported.
Prosecutors said surveillance video showed the two friends going into Aguilar's home around 10:00 a.m. on the day of the murder. More than three hours later, Aguilar walked out of the home alone with a blood-soaked shirt. He then went to a nearby business carrying garbage bags.
Aguilar's father called police later that day when he found Vetecnik's body in the trailer, which "smelled strongly of cleaning agents," police said. Investigators recovered a bloody leather glove and a knife inside the trailer, along with the remains. Other body parts were recovered behind the home.
The medical examiner determined that Vetecnik had been stabbed 26 times in the head, and at one point, the knife had penetrated the skull. Ultimately, the knife struck the internal carotid.
Initially, Aguilar denied even knowing Vetecnik and claimed he was at his girlfriend's house all day. He had cuts on his hands, which he claimed came from slicing ribs for barbecue.
The defendant eventually admitted to killing his friend, saying, "I did it." Investigators never publicly revealed his motive for the attack.
However, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said that Aguilar may have been dealing with mental illness or drug psychosis when he committed the murder, ABC4 reported.
"We let the defendant plead guilty, but mentally ill as part of this disposition. It accurately kind of captures the time when this happened, but it is not going to detract away from the sentence that's going to be available," Gill said.
Because Aguilar was 17 when he committed the murder, he was charged as a minor and cannot fact the death penalty or life in prison. Aguilar will remain at a youth facility until he is 25 before being moved to the adult prison, where he will serve the remainder of his sentence. His sentencing is scheduled for December 5.
In a Facebook post, Vetecnik's sister said that the guilty plea felt like a win. "But at the end of the day no amount of time in prison will ever be enough! He took my baby brother in the worst way possible!"
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