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Prosecutors have charged a Salt Lake man with murder in connection with a fatal stabbing. Police originally thought the victim in this stabbing had committed suicide, but a witness came forward and told police the man was stabbed at a party by someone else.
It happened at the Seasons at Pebble Creek apartments complex on the 1602 W. Snow Queen Place in Salt Lake City on Nov. 30. A witness tells police she saw 25-year-old Matthew Maxwell being stabbed during a party there. Now police need the public's help to bring the murder suspect in.
Police are looking for 18-year-old Medel Tenangueno. They say he is responsible for killing Maxwell by stabbing him with a knife.
Salt Lake City police spokeswoman Lara Jones said, "From talking to witnesses, we don't believe he has left the area."
The knife Tenangueno used hit Maxwell in the heart, and when police arrived they found him bleeding on the stairs in front of the apartment. He died an hour later at the hospital.
Early on in the investigation police thought Maxwell may have stabbed himself, but as the investigation continued, investigators moved toward homicide.
Deputy District Attorney Alicia Cook said, "There were some things that just didn't sit right with them (police) about writing this off as a suicide, and they continued with their investigation, and ultimately they came to the evidence that we have based our case on now."
Part of that evidence comes from a witness listed in the probable cause statement filed by the district attorney. In it, a juvenile states that he was at the party where he witnessed Tenangueno stab Maxwell in the chest.
"The witness was close to Mr. Maxwell and the defendant when the stabbing happened," Cook said.
The district attorney's office say it has based its case off that witness. When Tenangueno is found, he will face a first-degree felony murder charge, a sentence that could mean 15 years to life.
Police believe Tenangueno is in the Salt Lake City area. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the Salt Lake City Police Department at 799-3000.
E-mail: spark@ksl.com
