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SALT LAKE CITY -- A murder charge has been filed in a case that has been fairly cold for years — the 1995 death of 30-year-old John Wollshleger.
Police said Tuesday that Antonio Luis Martinez is being charged in the murder.
Wollshleger was found dead in the back of a pickup truck at at 1550 South 700 West, with a gunshot wound to the head from a high-caliber rifle. Police said he had his legs tied to the handlebars of a bicycle and had been dragged over concrete or asphalt before being left in the truck.
According to Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, Martinez had hinted that he was involved in the murder some time ago. "He had made a statement indicating that he had left the state of Utah for a crime that he had done and that he was on the run from," Gill said.
A police statement said that he fled to Mexico for a year.
This year, two witnesses were able to provide details leading to the charges against Martinez. In January, one claimed to have been at a party where Wollshleger was shot, and saw Martinez shoot him with a rifle. In February, another witness gave a similar story.
During a March interview with police, Martinez admitted to owning a 30-06 hunting rifle in 1995, according to Gill.
Last year, police attempted to collect DNA samples from two possible suspects in the murder. One in West Virginia was ruled out based on the sample, and another in Colorado refused to offer a sample.
At the time of the murder, a $1,000 reward was offered for information connected to the shooting, but few leads turned up.
Contributing: Paul Nelson
