The Feburary 9th Killer

Sonia Mejia and Damiana Castillo

In two different Salt Lake City Suburbs, two tragedies happened exactly two years apart. Two Hispanic women were murdered in similar ways. It was initially thought of being a coincidence, but when the killers DNA connected the two. This caused fear in the Salt Lake City area around February 9th of the following years.

On February 9, 2006, pregnant 29-year-old Sonia Mejia was home by herself in her Taylorsville flat. In the middle of the day, a Hispanic man knocked on her door. a neighbor claimed that the two seemed to have had a heated argument and he forced his way into her home.

Her husband came home later and found that she'd been assaulted and strangled to death. But not only did he lose his wife their unborn child didn't survive either. Sonia's jewelry was stolen and her car was found in Murray, Utah.

Evidence speculates that Sonia didn't know her attacker. That he may have been stalking her and found out where she had lived and moved on with his plans.

On February 9, 2008, 57-year-old Damiana Castillo didn't show up to church. She wouldn't ever miss it and this worried some people at the church and especially her family. Her son went to check on her at her West Valley City home and found her body. She'd been murdered the same way Sonia was. Jewelry was also stolen from her home. There were no signs of forced entry.

The man was described as a Hispanic male with short black hair that was in his late teens the too early '20s at the time of the attack. He was between 5'3" and 5'5" and around 135 to 150 lbs. It isn't known if Feb. 9 is significant to the killer or if it was a coincidence he decided to kill on those days. Other cases haven't been linked yet and it's possible he's committed similar crimes. He isn't technically a "serial killer".

Police believe they know who the person that was responsible for these crimes are.
SOURCES:
Good 4 Utah
KSL
Good 4 Utah
CNN