A 17-year-old is facing a homicide charge after his father found the body of a dismembered 15-year-old in his trailer.
The teenager has been charged as an adult in 3rd District Court with aggravated murder, a first-degree felony; obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony; and desecration of a body and escape, third-degree felonies.
According to the charges, the suspect’s father called police on May 26 to report that while he was looking for his son, he found a dead body inside his utility trailer. When officers arrived, they discovered the dismembered remains of a 15-year-old neighbor boy, Ivan Nickolas “Nick” Vetecnik, and cleaning supplies in the trailer, which “smelled strongly of cleaning agents.”
More remains were found in garbage bags in a field behind the home, and a bloody t-shirt was found in the 17-year-old’s bedroom.
When he was interviewed by police, the suspect at first denied any involvement in the killing of his friend, claiming he was at his girlfriend’s house and that cuts on his hands and blood on his clothes were the result of cutting himself while cutting ribs for a barbecue. Eventually, according to police, he admitted to being in the trailer with the victim and said, “I did it.”
Police obtained surveillance video of the suspect and Vetecnik together on the day of the killing, according to the charges. At 10:09 a.m., they’re seen entering the 17-year-old’s home together; at 1:20 p.m., the suspect is seen alone wearing the bloody t-shirt later found in his room; at 1:30 p.m. and 1:42 p.m., he’s seen leaving the house with garbage bags and heading toward the field, and returning without them.
According to the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner, Vetecnik was stabbed 26 times in the head, and one of the wounds penetrated his skull. The fatal wound was determined to be to the neck, severing the carotid artery.
After he was taken to the police station for questioning, interview room video footage shows the suspect pulling his handcuffs free from a wall and attempting to leave the room.
The suspect is being held without bail.
