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- Mark Nelson Anthony Munoz, 53, was charged Wednesday with murder in the 2005 killing of Jason Royter.
- A DNA match from a national database linked Munoz to the crime, police say.
- The Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office is seeking further evidence to strengthen the case.
SALT LAKE CITY — A man recently arrested in connection with a cold case homicide in Magna that happened nearly 20 years ago may have had an argument with the victim prior to stabbing him, police say.
Mark Nelson Anthony Munoz, 53, was charged in 3rd District Court Wednesday with murder, a first-degree felony.
Munoz is accused of killing 33-year-old Jason Royter on Aug. 6, 2005. Investigators say the two men may have previously been acquainted with each other.
On that day, Salt Lake County sheriff's deputies were called to 7383 W. Paine Road, where Royter was found dead in his home. Blood was found in the kitchen and in the stairwell leading to the basement, according to the charging documents.
"On the stairs to the basement was debris, possibly trash, and a knife with a bent blade covered in blood. In the basement, a male identified as Jason Royter was found lying against the wall deceased covered in blood," the charges state.
Royter's girlfriend told police that the two of them had been shopping on the night of Aug. 5, 2005, and returned about 10:30 p.m. She went out again about 11:30 p.m. to go to a friend's house. When she returned home about 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 6, she found the front door open, according to the charges.
That's when she found Royter deceased in the basement.
She told police that "the front door is always locked, and Jason never answers the door," the charges say. She also remembered seeing what she thought was a blue Bronco Jeep with tinted windows parked around the corner when she left the house, and the vehicle was gone when she returned.
The girlfriend then told investigators that "Munoz may be involved with Jason's death," according to the charges. She said she knew Munoz's wife at the time and recalled a time that "Munoz showed up to her house with a gun looking for her son."
The court documents do not say whether Munoz was ever questioned by police in 2005.
Another witness told police he was walking his dog between 11 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. that night when he heard Royter and another man "inside the front door yelling at each other. (He) stated that it sounded like the two males were going to fight. (The man) stated that he heard one male saying, 'Pay me back,' and (Royter) saying, 'I don't owe you,'" the charges allege.
An autopsy determined that Royter died from being stabbed in the chest.
Despite pleas by the family for information and to keep his story alive in the media, no one was ever arrested.
Then, in 2024, the Utah Bureau of Forensic Services informed detective Ben Pender that a "hit" was made on the national DNA database CODIS. Munoz's criminal history in Utah includes mostly misdemeanor crimes, according to state court records. Pender says the DNA match came last year because of a crime that happened in another state that required his DNA to be entered into the database. Additionally, police say Munoz owned a blue Chevy pickup at the time of the killing.
"Once the CODIS hit was provided, it was difficult to locate the whereabouts of Mark," police said, noting that he is homeless, does not have a cellphone and travels out of state often.
The sheriff's office says the case is still active, and detectives are hoping that the arrest of Munoz, who spent many years living in the Magna area, will jog the memories of others who will now come forward.
"We are looking for any additional evidence that will help the case," Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said during a recent press conference. "The case is not over. We want to make sure that justice is served."
