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Concerning rise in Utah homicides has authorities searching for answers

Posted at 1:41 PM, Nov 02, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-02 19:18:23-04

SALT LAKE CITY - A rise in homicides throughout Utah has police concerned.

Now the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office is working with law enforcement do something about it.

DA representatives from each of Utah's 29 counties met to determine the best way to combat the significant rise in the number of homicides in the state.

In 2011, District Attorney Sim Gill formed a Homicide Task Force which designates specific prosecutors to work closely with detectives investigating murder cases.

He says the need for this sort of cooperation is greater than ever.

It seems as though there's been a murder almost every week in the Salt Lake Valley.

Less than two weeks ago, Christian Marquez was shot and killed in Salt Lake City while washing his new car; the killer remains unknown and case unsolved.

A similar situation for Unified Police detectives who found a man murdered and wrapped in plastic in Butterfield Canyon about three weeks ago.

Once again, the killer remains a mystery and no one has been arrested.

Gill says the more cooperation and information-sharing between law enforcement agencies, the better chance they have at solving the cases.

He says that's why he put together this conference.