Clearfield woman found dead inside car in Jordan River identified


Save Story

Show 1 more video

Leer en español

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — A woman found dead in an overturned car in the Jordan River over the weekend has been identified as a Clearfield woman.

Salt Lake police identified the victim Tuesday as 27-year-old Vanessa Becenti.

About 4 p.m. Sunday, a man walking on the south side of North Temple near 1000 West saw an SUV on its hood, submerged in the Jordan River. Investigators believe the vehicle may have been in the river since Friday night, said Salt Lake police detective Greg Wilking.

As of Tuesday, there was no indication of foul play, he said. But how Becenti ended up in the river and why she was in Salt Lake City were still being investigated.

The vehicle belonged to Becenti. Wilking said detectives were trying to retrace her steps to determine what she was doing Friday. They were also waiting for toxicology tests from the state medical examiner to be completed, which could take several weeks.

Wilking said the woman's cellphone was also sent to the Utah State Crime Lab to help investigators piece together what happened.

On Sunday police said the vehicle may have been driving on railroad tracks when it fell off the bridge and into the river.

Utah state court records show Becenti took a plea in abeyance to misdemeanor intoxication in or about a vehicle in January, but a warrant for her arrest was issued April 10 and her abeyance revoked.

Contributing: Sandra Yi

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Pat Reavy

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast