CRIME
New Details Released About 6th Suspect In Kearns Woman’s Murder
Mar 27, 2021, 11:02 PM | Updated: 11:07 pm
KEARNS, Utah — New details have been released about the arrest of a sixth person in connection to the murder of a 25-year-old Kearns woman who was seen on video being abducted during daylight hours.
The sixth suspect was booked into jail Thursday in connection to the murder of Nicole Solorio Romero. Detectives arrested Cristian Morales Gonzales, also known as “the Mechanic,” outside a West Valley City home.
According to court documents, one of the other five suspects — Orlando Tobar, nicknamed “Chaparro” — called Gonzales from the restaurant Tacos Mi Caramelo and asked for help in disposing of Nicole’s body on Feb. 6.
The restaurant was owned by Carolina Marquez — who was booked along with Fernando Marquez on charges of suspicion of murder, kidnapping and obstruction of justice in the case.
Video surveillance at the restaurant captured Tobar getting into a red Mitsubishi Eclipse, later linked to Gonzales.
Police said the duo then drove to the West Valley home on Elba Avenue where Romero was shot and met up with the other suspects.
They said Romero’s body was last seen being loaded into a white truck with a trailer driven by Tobar and Gonzales.
Witness accounts indicated a large multi-agency police presence was seen around the time of Gonzole’s arrest, including officers from the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake, south of the Tooele Army Depot along State Route 73. Authorities have not confirmed if this was in relation to the investigation.
Gonzales faced charges for obstruction of justice.
Detectives with the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake have not said if the body of Nicole Solorio Romero was found, but have referred KSL-TV to the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office — which released a statement saying they have filed charges, but it was still an active investigation, so they could not comment on details of the investigation.
KSL-TV also reached out to the FBI to see if they helped out in recovering Nicole’s body in the last four days. A spokesperson said they have not assisted with a recovery effort.
