- Jeffrey Mauricio Lopez, 32, was charged with murder, robbery and other felonies Friday.
- Lopez lured Kevin Van Beuge to his shop, killed him and buried his body in a shallow grave, charges say.
- Police seek public help in ongoing investigation.
HERRIMAN — A Taylorsville man was charged Friday with luring a man to his auto shop under the guise of selling him parts, then shooting and killing him and burying his body in Tooele County.
Jeffrey Mauricio Lopez, 32, is charged in 3rd District Court with aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, discharge of a firearm causing serious injury, first-degree felonies; obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony; desecration of a body, a third-degree felony; plus unlawful use of a bank card and unlawful possession of another person's identification, class A misdemeanors.
"(Lopez) went to great lengths to plan and clean up. He lured the victim to the location under the guise of selling him more vehicle parts, but then robbed and killed the victim before getting rid of the evidence," according to charging documents.
On Dec. 27, Kevin Van Beuge, 60, of Herriman, left his home about 5:25 a.m. to help his son with a repair project and to obtain vehicle parts. He was reported missing by his wife the next day.
"Banking information obtained from Van Beuge's credit union showed two ATM withdrawals shortly after he left home. One transaction was for $302 and another transaction for $102 immediately after. The next transaction was from the Venmo app for $2,500 at 6:13 a.m.," charging documents state.
Taylorsville police found his abandoned Ford Ranger near 5700 South and 3400 West. As officers approached the vehicle, they found a "stain that appeared to be a pool of dried blood next to the Ford Ranger," the charges say.
Police found nearby surveillance video showing the truck being dropped off.
"This video shows the vehicle arrive at the location and an unknown Hispanic male walked away from the vehicle holding what appeared to be a firearm in his hand," according to a police booking affidavit.
Using license plate reader machines, investigators determined that the vehicle had been in Murray, Kamas and Grantsville. They later learned the truck was also at a car wash in Bountiful before being abandoned in Taylorsville.
"Detectives noticed that the truck was driven to several counties, including Utah County, where they found evidence of Van Beuge's cards being used in an attempt to withdraw money from his account. Detectives also noticed that on Dec. 28 in (the) early morning hours, the truck was driven to a remote part of Tooele County, where it sat for approximately two hours. Detectives began searching the area and with the help of a K-9 certified cadaver dog, a patch of disturbed dirt and a grave were located. Detectives removed layers of dirt and located a deceased adult male," the charges state.
Van Beuge's body was partially covered by a blanket and "wrapped tightly around the waist of the body was a thick ratchet strap. A second ratchet strap was looped through the strap that was around the waist," according to the court documents.
Investigators discovered two gunshot wounds on Van Beuge's body.
Detectives also served a warrant to find out who owned the Venmo account that Van Beuge sent money to and traced it to Lopez, the charges say. Detectives went to an auto shop in Murray and "located a piece of cardboard inside a garbage can that appeared to have blood on it. A presumptive test on the cardboard showed the blood was human."
Video surveillance collected by police near the auto shop showed Van Beuge arriving at the business on Dec. 27 at 5:53 a.m.
"The truck is left idling with the headlights on. At 5:59 a.m., a gunshot was heard. At 6:04 a.m., a second gunshot is heard. At 6:05 a.m. Lopez is observed exiting the business, he gets into the driver seat of the Ford Ranger and proceeds to drive the Ford Ranger into the auto shop. Lopez is then seen using the forklift near the rear of the Ford Ranger. At 8:34 a.m., the Ford Ranger exits the auto shop and the business parking lot. Video only shows one person driving, no passengers," according to charging documents.
"About 9 minutes after the second gunshot, detectives learned that a Venmo transaction from the victim's account to the defendant in the amount of $2,500 was completed," the charges state. "(Lopez) then drives the Ford Ranger all over the Salt Lake Valley, as well as surrounding counties, where he attempts to withdraw money using the victim's bank cards.
"It is believed that (Lopez) drove the victim around all day on the 27th and left him in the bed of the truck until the 28th," when he buried him in a shallow grave in Tooele County," investigators wrote.
On Thursday, Herriman police released a statement asking for the public's help in gathering additional information about the case, saying it is still an ongoing investigation.
