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WEST VALLEY CITY -- The person of interest in the murder of a Bountiful woman was found in the woman's car in a West Valley City apartment complex parking lot overnight.
Officials say she was either strangled or asphyxiated, though they're waiting on an autopsy to confirm the official cause of death.
Chad Mecham, 27, was named the only person of interest in 39-year-old Tina Wilson's death soon after he was spotted driving her car Monday afternoon.
Police still aren't calling him a suspect, though they have released more information about his relationship with Wilson. Mecham and Wilson met at a job several years ago, and police say he took advantage of her, borrowing money and her car. They say Wilson also let Mecham stay at her home when he needed a place to stay.
Two friends say they last saw Wilson alive at her home just over a week ago, and Mecham was also there.
Mecham found in Wilson's carMembers of the Joint Criminal Apprehension Team and Adult Probation and Parole found Mecham asleep inside Wilson's car in the parking lot of the Pepper Tree Apartments near 4600 South and 3800 West around 2 a.m. Tuesday.
Police say Mecham didn't put up a fight, but when he was bought back to the Bountiful police station for questioning he refused to cooperate with investigators.
"There was no struggle. We took him without incident," said Lt. Randy Pickett with Bountiful police. "They bought him in, they asked him if he wanted a drink, a cigarette, and he says, ‘I want an attorney,' and that ended everything."
Mecham has not been arrested for Wilson's murder but has been arrested for violating his probation. An arrest warrant was issued for him Sept. 27. He's currently in jail on a 72-hour hold. Police say they're also looking at other people who may have been involved in her murder.
Mecham has a history of aggravated robbery, including a 2006 incident when he was a suspect in a string of OxyContin thefts across the Salt Lake Valley.
Friends saw Mecham with Wilson before her death
Wilson was found dead inside her Bountiful basement apartment near 500 South and 200 East Monday morning, after her father called police saying he hadn't heard from her for several days. Wilson was last seen alive last Tuesday, Sept. 28.
Neighbor Amy Arbuckle said Wilson always had a smile and a wave for her. "She would share with her neighbors lots of vegetables and produce that she would have, and just a nice lady," she said.
Wilson's LDS visiting teachers also say Wilson was warm and friendly.
"We just both feel really sad because we knew Tina and what a special girl she was," said Carolyn Davies, who last saw Wilson in August just before Wilson's birthday.
"After that I would stop by or call her, but she did not want us to come in and we knew there was something, some reason that she did not want us here," Davies said.
Davies never figured out why, but she says Wilson wasn't herself when her teaching partner went to Wilson's home on Sept. 25.
She says Mecham was there, too, and wanted to use the phone.
"Apparently he knew somebody who had a flat tire and he wanted to borrow her car, and she wanted to go with him," Davies recalls.
Cause of death likely asphyxiation
Officers have now said Wilson was either strangled or asphyxiated. They believe the person who did it tried to hide the body. Police also said it was possible she had been dead for several days before being found.
An autopsy is being performed to determine her exact cause of death. Depending on how the autopsy results come back, murder charges could be filed against Mecham within the next few days.
Unknown person called in sick for Wilson last week
Wilson was a custodian at West Clinton Elementary School in Clinton. Bountiful police said someone claiming to be her nephew called the school to report her being sick on Wednesday and Thursday of last week. In the past she always called herself.
Wilson's family told police they didn't call the school, and police now are looking at phone records to see who may have called. They say it's possible it could have been Mecham, but they also say they're looking at several other people who may be connected to the case.
Co-workers devastated by news of Wilson's death
The staff at West Clinton Elementary school are devastated by the news that one of their own has been the victim of murder. The principal told KSL Tuesday that Tina Wilson was close with a lot of the faculty.
Davis School District spokesperson Chris Williams says Wilson had been employed at the school for about a year and half. He says most of the students knew her, but it's the faculty that has been impacted the most.
"The staff knew her very well," Williams said. "She was kind, very sweet, very personable. No doubt she will be missed."
One teacher sent an e-mail to some kindergarten parents after hearing about the murder. She wrote that Tina Wilson was "well-loved" and called her a wonderful person.
"She was always so happy to clean up all of our kindergarten messes!" the teacher wrote.
The school district says Wilson's death will be addressed with the students Tuesday. If students have more in-depth questions about how she died, an emergency repose team is on standby to help those students.
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Story written with contributions from Shara Park, Sandra Yi, Andrew Adams and Becky Bruce.
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