Missing Springville woman found dead; ex-boyfriend arrested

PROVO — A Provo man accused of killing his former girlfriend, who had been reported as missing in Springville, has been arrested after the body of a woman was found in a shed.

Arthuro Aurelio Carrion, 53, was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of murder. Lesa Hyde's body was found in Carrion's shed after police received a tip Sunday.

Lesa Hyde was last seen "around the end of December," according to a Facebook post from Springville police on Jan. 29. Hyde's friends told KSL-TV they feared she was dead and suspected Carrion had something to do with her disappearance.

Carrion called another man on Saturday and had him come to a residence at 782 Heather Lane.

"The witness arrived at the home and asked Carrion what was going on. Carrion said he had done something wrong. Then used the name 'Lesa' and nodded his head at the shed in the backyard. The witness knows that Lesa is a former girlfriend of Carrion. He also knew that Carrion was arrested for domestic violence on Nov. 19. Lesa was the victim of this incident. Lesa is a current missing person and her disappearance is being investigated by Springville police. Carrion has been interviewed as a person of interest in the missing person case," according to a police booking affidavit.

Another person who had talked to the witness called 911 on Sunday and said "there was a dead woman in a shed" at Carrion's address, the affidavit states. Officers responded to the residence and were about to cut the lock off the shed in the backyard when Carrion gave them the key.

"When asked what would be found in the shed, Carrion stated 'a dead body.' When the shed was opened the smell of decomposition was plain. Several bags were opened. A black bag was opened, and a forearm of a human body was (found) inside," according to the arrest report.

Lesa Hyde's husband of 12 years, Shane Hyde, said he is having a hard time dealing with the situation and misses her. Although the two have been separated, they remained on good terms, he said.

"We had our problems but we always had each other," he said.

Shane Hyde said the last time his estranged wife visited him, she had told him Carrion had tried to strangle her.

"She didn't deserve this. You know, I don't know why she was so obsessed with this guy — to the point that, you know, she knew. She knew he was going to do something to her," Shane Hyde said.

He said Lesa Hyde is a mother of two and a grandmother who loved to show him pictures of her new grandbaby.

"Nothing mattered more than her kids," Shane Hyde said.

The remains were taken to the Utah State Medical Examiner's Office for identification and to determine the cause of death.

Carrion was convicted of aggravated assault on Dec. 12 in 4th District Court. In that case, he "strangled his intimate partner L.H. during an argument inside the car in which they were living in (in) Provo," on Nov. 18, according to charging documents. When the woman told Carrion she couldn't breathe, he responded, "That's the point, I'm trying to make you black out," the charges state.

According to Lesa Hyde's friends, she and Carrion met online in 2019 and dated on and off for the past few years. They said the relationship was always complicated, but Lesa Hyde loved people to a fault and always tried to work things out.

Contributing: Shara Park and Cassidy Wixom

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