Four Salt Lake County residents face felony charges after a missing man was found dead in Tooele County.
Corey Lee Petersen, 53, of West Valley City; Marilee Joann Borden, 43, of Salt Lake City; Michael Shaine Snyder, 40, of Salt Lake City and Rodney Maxwell, 35, of West Jordan have all been charged with one count of first-degree felony aggravated kidnapping.
The Salt Lake City Police Department was investigating a missing person’s case involving Jason Nakonechni, 38, who had last been seen on Sept. 2. The agency had information from a confidential informant that Nakonechni’s body could be found in Tooele County and it was discovered around midnight on Nov. 22.
The body was recovered about 200 yards off of Mormon Trail Road near the intersection with Box Elder Canyon Road in an excavation site, according to Tooele County Sheriff Paul Wimmer. Salt Lake police were conducting their investigation with permission from the county sheriff’s office, he said.
The recovery of Nakonechni’s body led to aggravated kidnapping charges against the Salt Lake County foursome in Salt Lake City District Court.
Police believe that Nakonechni was killed around the same time that he was reported missing, nearly two months prior to the discovery of the body.
According to a probable cause statement from Salt Lake City police, Nakonechni had planned to meet Borden at a motel in Salt Lake County on Sept. 4. Nakonechni’s vehicle had been located abandoned and on fire Sept. 5, three days after his mother last saw him.
Motel records showed Borden had rented a room Sept. 3 and the motel received several complaints about a loud fight in the room, the probable cause statement said. When a manager responded to the room it was found unoccupied.
When questioned by police, Borden said she met Nakonechni at the hotel and walked back to the hotel room with him, the statement said. Upon entering the room, Nakonechni was immediately attacked by three individuals inside the room.
Borden told police Nakonechni nearly escaped but was pulled back into the room and beaten, which left him bleeding and without several teeth, according to the probable cause statement. The assailants, including Snyder, then said they were going to take Nakonechni to Petersen’s Salt Lake County home to “get it straightened out.”
Officers recovered cell phone records that showed one of the assailants was in contact with Petersen at the motel room, the statement said.
A witness at Petersen’s home said they entered the home and saw an injured man on a chair in the kitchen, who was identified as Nakonechni, according to the probable cause statement. The witness said Petersen had told them Nakonechni owed him money.
A different witness said Nakonechni told Petersen he didn’t steal anything, but Petersen told him to shut up, the statement said. Salt Lake City police detectives found social media messages between Nakonechni and Petersen in which Petersen accused Nakonechni of stealing from him.