Investigators say a blood trail led from the body to a nearby home where a party stretched into Christmas morning.
WEST VALLEY CITY, UT — A 39-year-old Kearns woman was arrested on Christmas Day after police found her boyfriend, 45, dead with a stab wound on a neighborhood sidewalk just after dawn on the city’s west side, authorities said.
Police identified the suspect as Fabiola Lara and the victim as Jose Humberto Alvarado. Detectives say Alvarado’s body was discovered by a dog walker shortly before 8 a.m. near 4500 West and Thayn Drive. A blood trail pointed investigators to a home on Atlas Way where the couple had been at a gathering that began Wednesday night and stretched past midnight. West Valley City officers say they first responded to the address at about 1:30 a.m. for a reported disturbance involving a child, then later learned the couple argued outside before Alvarado left on foot and collapsed nearby. Lara was booked into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on suspicion of murder while prosecutors review the case.
According to police, the early-morning call came from a resident out walking a dog who reported a person down on the sidewalk in a typically quiet subdivision. Responding officers and medical crews found Alvarado unresponsive with what investigators described as a stab wound to the shoulder. Detectives followed a visible blood trail through the block toward Atlas Way. They say the trail and witness accounts linked the scene to a holiday party at a nearby home attended by Lara and Alvarado. “It’s unfortunate that it happens on Christmas morning,” Lt. Michael Johnson said in an on-scene interview, calling the neighborhood “relatively quiet” and noting that major incidents there are rare.
Investigators say the earlier disturbance involved a report that Alvarado was caught removing leggings from an 11-year-old female relative of Lara inside the home. Officers responding around 1:30 a.m. did not find Alvarado at the scene; he had fled, according to police. Detectives now believe Lara confronted him outside shortly afterward and stabbed him during that encounter. Court documents referenced by police indicate a home surveillance camera captured the stabbing and Alvarado leaving the property on foot. He was later found along Thayn Drive, where he died despite efforts by neighbors to summon help. Officials have not released additional information about the child involved, citing the girl’s age, and did not say whether other partygoers witnessed the stabbing.
Neighbors described a jarring scene for a holiday morning. One longtime resident awoke to flashing lights, saw blood along the sidewalk and fence line, and told reporters the body lay near her yard when officers arrived. Another neighbor who comforted the 911 caller said the woman who first spotted Alvarado was “torn up” after realizing the man was not breathing. Police canvassed the block for doorbell and porch camera footage, going door to door and asking residents who were traveling for the holiday to review recordings from late Wednesday into Thursday morning. The agency has not announced any other arrests and said investigators are still piecing together who was present at the party when the disturbance began.
Authorities released the names and ages of the two central figures late Thursday and said Lara is from Kearns, a community just southwest of the city. Investigators said Alvarado suffered at least one stab wound to his upper body; a formal autopsy will determine the final cause and manner of death. Police did not detail what kind of knife was used or whether it was recovered. They also declined to say how many people were in the house during the disturbance, how long the party had been underway, or whether alcohol was a factor, citing the ongoing investigation.
Detectives collected physical evidence at the Atlas Way home and along the route to Thayn Drive, including what they described as video showing the confrontation. They also took statements from residents and party guests who remained on scene when officers returned after daybreak. Investigators said the case will be forwarded to the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office for screening of formal charges. If prosecutors file a murder count, Lara would make an initial court appearance in Salt Lake City; as of Saturday, no hearing date had been posted. Police said additional updates will be released when the medical examiner’s findings and the charging decision are complete.
As the block reopened, neighbors spoke quietly on their porches and pointed to patches of dried blood near the curb. “You see a lot of things happening on the news, but you never think it would be so close to home,” said a resident who has lived in the area for about 20 years. Lt. Johnson reminded reporters that while holidays are usually calm, serious incidents can and do happen. Officers remained in the neighborhood into the afternoon, photographing driveways and collecting digital video files from homeowners willing to share footage that might show when Alvarado left the party and the path he took before collapsing.
Police say Lara remained jailed Saturday as detectives finalize reports and evidence logs for prosecutors. The next public update is expected after the county attorney reviews the case and the medical examiner issues a report in the coming days. Officials have not announced a time for a departmental briefing.
Author note: Last updated December 27, 2025.