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UPDATE:Minh Dong Trinh, 41, was arrested Tuesday on a warrant related to the charges he faces in connection with the death of Elizabeth Silver. A tweet from Salt Lake police said the arrest was made by the department's outstanding homicide detectives.
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SALT LAKE CITY — A West Valley man allegedly strangled a woman after she declined his sexual advances, court documents show.
Minh Dong Trinh, 41, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with murder and aggravated sexual assault, both first-degree felonies.
On Oct. 8, Trinh was in a room at the Main Street Motel, 1530 S. Main, with three other people when he began making advances toward Elizabeth Silver, 30, while they were on a bed, according to charging documents. One witness told police the two appeared to be "horse-playing around" but then noticed "the wrestling started to get rough," the charges state. The witness then noticed Trinh had "one arm on top of Ms. Silver's head and the other arm around her neck," according to court documents.
Trinh and Silver then fell off the bed, "hit the ground hard," and "continued to 'wrestle' on the floor," prompting the witness to ask "if they were playing around?" the charges state. "Neither individual answered."
Before he fell asleep, the witness saw Silver "in a seated position on the floor with her head slumped over," the charges state. When he woke up, she was in the same position.
When interviewed by police, Trinh said he offered Silver drugs or money for sex but she "repeatedly said no," according to court documents. Trinh claimed he left the room at that point.
But according to the Utah State Medical Examiner's Office, Silver died from asphyxiation "due to a physical altercation and neck compression and the manner of death to be homicide," the charges state.
In 2009, Trinh was charged with several felonies for allegedly beating and shooting at a man in Taylorsville. But the case was later dismissed when a state witness failing to show up to court to testify, according to court records.
