TOOELE COUNTY, Utah — An Orem, Utah man who was alreadyfacing charges for murder and kidnapping is now facing a new murder charge following another body being found in the mountains of Tooele County.
Cesar Matias Sevilla-Aleman, also known as "Taliban," was charged with three counts of first-degree felony aggravated murder and three counts of first-degree felony aggravated kidnapping for the deaths of Rocio Bustamante-Banuelos, Carlos "Carlitos: Sepulveda and Zamir "Cumbias" Sanchez. Those charges were filed in early 2024 after their bodies were found by Rocky Mountain Cadaver Search and Rescue Group dogs on April 22, 2023 near the Mercur Trailhead.
Sevilla-Aleman was arrested in September 2022 for an unrelated non-fatal shooting at a large, unofficial rodeo party on the shore of Utah Lake. Sevilla-Aleman was already in jail serving a sentence of five years to life in prison for one count and 3-15 years for the other count over the non-fatal shooting in September of 2022 that injured two people.
But new charges were filed in December of 2024 following yet another body being found in the Tooele County area near the Mercur Trailhead. On April 19, 2024 the Utah County Sheriff's Office located what was later determined to be a human rib bone.
When detectives searched further they found numerous scattered bones and a human jaw with some teeth still attached. A search warrant was obtained for the area and the site was processed by investigations.
During the search a wallet containing the passport for Jose "Angel" Castaneda-Lopez was located inside of clothing found alongside bones within the grave. Angel's identity was later confirmed through DNA results.
Jose Castaneda-Lopez was a missing person with a National Crime Information Center listing stating that he was missing since April 2022.
Police would once again review call detail records from their previous investigation into the deaths of Rocio Bustamante-Banuelos, Carlos "Carlitos: Sepulveda and Zamir "Cumbias" Sanchez. Analysis of the cell phone location data showed numerous interactions between Angel and Sevilla-Aleman between April 13, 2022 and April 19.
On April 19 investigators say that Sevilla-Aleman received two calls from Angel's phone before then placing a call and traveling west to the Tooele location.
Witnesses confirmed to investigators that Sevilla-Aleman had been in contact with Angel and stated they believed Angel owed people money. One witness stated that Aleman had called him the day before Angel's disappearance to express frustration and a belief that Angel would rob him.
Detectives used firearm toolmark analysis on the shell casings recovered from where Angel's body was found. That analysis found the casings were a match to the same shell casings where the other three bodies were found.
An autopsy conducted by the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner determined that Angel had been shot 16 times. 16 bullets were also recovered at the grave site.
Cesar Matias Sevilla-Aleman is expected back in court for his next appearance on February 11.
