Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- A Provo man, Arthuro Aurelio Carrion, was charged Thursday with murder in the death of his ex-girlfriend.
- Lesa Hyde's body was found in a shed, bound and covered with a plastic bag.
- Carrion initially denied knowledge but later admitted to the presence of a body, police say.
PROVO — Criminal charges were filed Thursday against a Provo man accused of killing his former girlfriend — who had been reported as missing for nearly two months — and putting her body in a shed.
Arthuro Aurelio Carrion, 53, is charged in 4th District Court with murder, a first-degree felony; obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony; abuse or desecration of a dead body, a third-degree felony; and theft, a class B misdemeanor.
On Sunday, police received a 911 call from a person who claimed Carrion had told a third person that he "murdered (Lesa Hyde) and her body was hidden in a shed behind an apartment where (Carrion) was known to stay," according to charging documents.
Police responded to the four-plex and found two metal storage sheds with locks on them in the back of the apartments. Carrion told the officers he did not know where Hyde was, that the sheds were owned by someone else and he did not have a key, the charges state. But when Carrion's mother arrived at the scene, she told her son to give the keys to police.
"The officer asked (Carrion) if they would find anything in the shed and he stated, 'A dead body.' After that statement, (he) was placed in handcuffs and while walking over to the officer's vehicle mumbled '(Expletive) snitch, I should have never told him,'" the charges state.
Officers opened the shed doors and found a black cloth hanging inside the doors that covered the opening.
"Police went further into the shed, noticed the smell of decomposition and saw a black nylon bag that looked like it had something large in it. The officers unzipped the bag a little and when they shined their light inside the opening, they saw a human forearm," charging documents state.
The officers immediately exited the shed and called for crime scene detectives and applied for a search warrant. Once a warrant was obtained, investigators went back into the shed and discovered the body of a woman.
"The female had her hands bound behind her back with black wire and there was a black plastic bag over her head, pulled tight and with a thick strap wrapped tightly around her neck. The body was transported to the Office of the Medical Examiner and was identified through fingerprints as (Hyde)," the charges state.
The medical examiner noted that she had bruising on her thighs, shoulders, arms and chest, her sternum was broken as well as several teeth, the charges say. Hyde was reported missing to Springville police on Dec. 26.
Also in the shed, detectives found a badge for the district attorney's office in Churchill County, Nevada, which had been reported as stolen.
Hyde is survived by two children.
