A May memorial service is planned for a young Utah mother and son who authorities say were killed by the woman’s boyfriend.
Emily Quijano, 23, and her 3-year-old son, Gabriel Almiron, of Orem, have been missing since September 2015.
Despite not yet finding their bodies, police and prosecutors say the mother and son are likely dead — and in October they charged the woman’s boyfriend, 29-year-old Christopher Richard Poulson, with two counts of aggravated murder and obstructing justice.
In a Sunday obituary, Quijano’s family announced a May 26 memorial service for the woman and her young son. It will be held at 1 p.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stake building at 711 S. 600 East in Payson.
Quijano was remembered in the obituary as a performer, someone who loved singing and who had learned to play multiple instruments.
“She loved to entertain us with her singing, and she had a uniquely clever sense of humor that kept everyone smiling and laughing and anticipating what she would say next,” the obituary reads. “Emily lifted people up.”
The woman’s greatest loves, her family wrote, were 3-year-old Gabriel and her dog, Titan.
Gabriel was remembered as a giggly boy who loved dinosaurs and took blankets with him everywhere.
“His ability to show tenderness and compassion was remarkable in one so young,” the obituary reads. “We will always remember his raspy squeals of delight, his gentleness, his beautiful grey eyes, and his smile.”
Quijano’s family in the obituary also thanked several police agencies and prosecutors who “are working hard to bring Emily and Gabriel’s remains home.”
After building a case for more than two years, prosecutors in October charged Poulson with the mother and son’s deaths, alleging he killed the two on Sept. 8, 2015, wrapped them in sheets and “buried or otherwise disposed of and concealed their bodies.”
Christopher Poulson
Authorities have not publicly revealed a motive for their deaths.
Though their bodies have not been found, prosecutors say numerous pieces of evidence add up to murder.
The day after the mother and son disappeared, Poulson bought a shovel and work gloves and then turned off his cellphone, according to a probable cause statement filed in court. The phone was turned on again three hours later and police traced it to a rural area of Payson.
Prosecutors allege that geolocation data from Poulson’s phone show he took a trip on Sept. 11, 2015, to St. George, where he abandoned Quijano’s red Toyota Prius with the keys and some of her belongings inside. Poulson returned to Utah County via a shuttle service, charges state.
The car was found in April 2016 and was searched by police. But authorities say the only fingerprints found on the bags of Quijano’s belongings were Poulson’s.
Though Poulson had originally told investigators that Quijano usually drove him around in her car, police discovered that the man owned a Ford Mustang, which he sold below value days after the disappearances. Police tracked down and searched the vehicle, and a cadaver dog “indicated” on the trunk area three times, according to charging documents.
Poulson also told other lies to police as they investigated the disappearances, prosecutors allege. And when confronted with all of this evidence during an Aug. 24 police interview in Logan, Poulson left for Hawaii two days later.
He was arrested in Hawaii in October and was brought back to Utah to face charges. The criminal case is still pending, Poulson is expected to be in court again on May 8 for a status conference.
Orem Lt. Craig Martinez said Monday that police still haven’t found Quijano and Almiron’s bodies, but said they are “still investigating leads.”
