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WEST VALLEY CITY — A man found dead inside a trailer where a woman was also found deceased, died from hanging himself, West Valley police confirmed Wednesday.
The bodies of Manuel "Miguel" Roque Garcia, 58, and Noelia Popoca, 39, were found inside a home at the Mountain View Mobile Home Park, 2646 W. 2680 South, on Oct. 11.
Police have said they believe their deaths were likely the result of a murder-suicide, but will not have any definitive answers until toxicology tests from the Utah State Medical Examiner's Office are returned.
On Wednesday, West Valley police spokeswoman Roxeanne Vainuku confirmed that Garcia's death was ruled to be a suicide caused by asphyxiation by hanging.
Popoca's cause of death, however, remained a mystery as of Wednesday. Vainuku said detectives could not see any obvious cause of death by looking at her body, meaning she was not shot or stabbed or had any obvious injuries that would have caused her to die. Her body was reportedly found in the same room as Garcia.
While police have said on the surface that the incident appears to be the result of a murder-suicide, they have not completely ruled out other reasons for her death, including a possible accident.
Vainuku said Garcia and Popoca had a "sporadic romantic relationship."
Two of Popoca's children, Damian Bautista Popoca, 21, and Dulce Bautista Popoca, 19, had said earlier that they were worried about their mother when she didn't come home Oct. 9. They found her car at the mobile home park and called police to report her missing. But when officers went to the trailer home, they did not see any suspicious activity through the windows and no one answered the door.
Because there was no evidence that a crime had been committed, police were unable to do anything more at that point. It wasn't until the children went back on Oct. 11 and a roommate answered the door that the bodies were discovered. The roommate was unaware of the bodies in the room.
Toxicology tests by the medical examiner are expected to take several weeks to complete.
