TAYLORSVILLE, UT – The Taylorsville Police Department has confirmed the arrest of two teenagers in connection with the recent abduction and murder of 21-year-old Alexia “Alex” Franco. The victim’s body was uncovered in a remote desert location, almost 50 miles from where he was last seen. Franco was reportedly spotted getting into a Jeep on the afternoon of his disappearance.
The police withheld the names of the teenagers due to their ages, but they confirmed in a statement that both boys were 15 and 17 years old. The young people were taken into custody at the Salt Lake Valley Detention Center on several felony homicide charges.
The victim’s body was discovered in a desolate area of Lehi, located close to the city of Provo. This finding spurred the police to change the direction of their investigation from a potential kidnapping to a homicide. The investigation’s initial stages focused on searching for the white Jeep Liberty from the early 2000s, which had been linked to Franco’s disappearance.
The discovery of the Jeep in Salt Lake County played an instrumental role in the case. Alyssa Henry, Franco’s girlfriend, reported that some acquaintances picked up Franco in the vehicle with a proposition to drive the couple to a local park. A wide-reaching search for the Jeep, aided by surveillance footage showing it outside Henry’s Taylorsville residence, was launched by the police department.
On the fateful Sunday, Henry narrated her harrowing experience to the authorities. She stated hearing an apparent gunshot from within the vehicle once Franco entered it, after which the car swiftly sped away.