Charges filed in connection to kidnapping, strangling of woman in SLC motel


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SALT LAKE CITY — Police arrested a man Friday in the kidnapping and strangling death of a woman at a downtown motel in July.

Jeffrey Allen Skog, 35, who is listed in court documents as a transient, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary, and aggravated robbery, all first-degree felonies.

An arrest warrant was issued about 2 p.m. and Salt Lake City's newly formed Metro Support Bureau picked him up in less than an hour and booked him into the Salt Lake County Jail, according to police.

On July 17, the body of Holly Nicole Carges, 34, was found inside a room at the Royal Garden Inn, 154 W. 600 South.

"Carges' hands were bound behind her back with her belt," according to charging documents.

An autopsy determined the cause of death was strangulation, the charges state. She also suffered blunt force trauma to her head and had restraint marks on her ankles.

DNA samples found on Carges' belt, her zipper and under her fingernails matched Skog's, the charges state. Salt Lake police detective Dennis McGowan said one of the reasons it took so long for detectives to make an arrest is because they were waiting for the DNA evidence to be processed.

An eyewitness also spotted Skog entering the motel room through a broken window, according to the charges. That person also told police that Skog tried to pawn off three gold rings he had taken from Carges.

Bail was set at $1 million. Police say Skog and Carges were "acquaintances."

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In August, Skog was charged in 3rd District Court with theft by receiving stolen property, a second-degree felony. In that case, detectives said they were already investigating Skog "regarding another matter" when they found him in a stolen vehicle at the Royal Garden Inn, the same motel where Carges' body was discovered. Police arrested him and prosecutors requested a high bail at that time because Skog had allegedly told others that he intended to leave the state.

He was convicted Sept. 19, but then released to Pre-Trial Services. He was advised at the time he pleaded guilty that his conviction "may be used as an enhancement to the penalties for a subsequent offense," according to a court docket.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on that matter on Nov. 7.

Utah state court records show Skog has a lengthy criminal history.

In 2011 he was convicted on several counts of vehicle burglary. In 2010, Skog was convicted of two counts of retaliation against a witness, victim or informant and was sentenced to jail. Also in 2010 in another case, Skog was convicted of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury. The case was reduced to a misdemeanor and he was sentenced to a year in jail, court records state.

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Pat Reavy

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