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SALT LAKE CITY — A man killed inside a downtown Salt Lake storage shed has been identified by police.
David Hinkebein, 65, was found deceased and badly beaten inside A Place for Your Stuff, 502 W. 300 South, which is also commonly referred to as the "TSP" or Temporary Storage Place, a small building that offers free storage for people experiencing homelessness. Hinkebein was the manager of the warehouse and was employed by Advantage Services, according to a police booking affidavit.
Police say he may have been dead since Dec. 29, but his body wasn't discovered until Jan. 3.
Nathan David Evans, 41, who police say is homeless, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of murder and obstructing justice.
About 11:20 a.m. on Jan. 3, Salt Lake police were called on a report of an "unresponsive" person inside of the storage shed.
"A large amount of blood" was discovered inside the office area of the building that day by staff members who then called police asking for a welfare check to be conducted on the rest of the storage area, according to the affidavit.
"Officers opened a back room in the office and located the body of a deceased adult male on the ground. The body of the victim appeared to have multiple injuries, including drag marks, abrasions, saturated with a large amount of suspected blood and a plastic bag over the top of his head. It was clear that the body had been moved to this location due to the drag marks on the floor and on the body," the affidavit states.
Detectives then found a witness who stated Evans and Hinkebein — the only two people who had keys to the building — were working together on Dec. 29. The witness was back at the facility on Monday looking for Hinkebein.
"The witness then walked to the back office and located a large amount of blood. The witness told (police) that he asked if Hinkebein was OK and (Evans) responded by saying, 'He's done!' The witness took this to mean that Hinkebein was dead," according to the affidavit.
The arrest report does not indicate why police were not contacted on the day the body was found.
A hammer and a trash bag with bloody clothing were some of the items of evidence collected from the scene by police. A clump of hair was also found in the victim's hand, which was the same color as Evans' hair, the affidavit says. Investigators located Evans for questioning and served a search warrant on him for DNA evidence. Police say he had "several fresh injuries to his body consistent with being in a physical altercation," including blood in his hair.
Investigators say a motive for the attack is still being investigated.
