Police: Kearns Woman Murdered Because ‘She Knew Too Much’
Feb 23, 2021, 4:18 PM | Updated: 10:54 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – According to new court documents, a Kearns woman who was kidnapped on Feb. 6 was killed because one of the suspects allegedly said, “she knew too much.”
A witness told police that’s what he heard one of the suspects say just before Conzuelo “Nicole” Solorio-Romero was shot in the back of the head.
Witnesses also told police they saw two men force Solorio-Romero into a car outside of her home on Feb. 6. The court document said surveillance video from the area helped police identify Orlando Tobar as the person who forced Solorio-Romero into the car and Jorge Medina as the driver.
The document said Tobar went by the name “Chaparro” and Medina was known as “Moreno.”
Both were later arrested and booked into jail on murder charges.
Family Looking For Answers In Kearns Woman’s Abduction, Apparent Murder
Solorio-Romero was taken to an apartment in West Valley City, where several witnesses were present and told police Tobar held a knife to her throat. They said Tobar told Moreno to stand behind Solorio-Romero.
The document said Tobar was questioning Solorio-Romero over what she told police that led to the arrest of one of his close associates who is now in federal custody. Solorio-Romero denied talking to the police.
According to police, Solorio-Romero told one of the witnesses in the apartment her husband did not commit suicide, which is what the witness believed, and added he was murdered by Tobar and Moreno.
The witness told police Tobar said Solorio-Romero knew too much and was not going to leave that apartment. “Chaparro then moved his head to the side and Moreno shot Nicole in the back of the head,” the document said.
The witnesses left the apartment and once outside they heard another shot. Moments later Tobar walked out with a gun and blood on his hands, according to the court document.
The witnesses said later they saw Solorio-Romero’s body wrapped in plastic bags then loaded into a landscape truck. They told police that Tobar, Moreno and a man know as “the Mechanic” disposed of Solorio-Romero’s body and Tobar forced one of the witnesses to clean up Solorio-Romero’s blood in the apartment.
Solorio-Romero’s sister told KSL TV she’s struggled to face what happened.
“If they were coward enough to do this to my sister, they should face their consequences and take responsibility for what they’ve done,” Jessica Romero McDonald said.
Police said after searching Tobar’s apartment they found a .40 caliber pistol that was the same caliber as the gun used in Solorio-Romero’s shooting. The witnesses confirmed it was the same gun used to kill Solorio-Romero.
“We don’t understand why this happened. We don’t understand why Nicole — we just don’t understand,” McDonald said.
The document said the gun was soaking in a chemical that was corroding it.
Police have not located Solorio-Romero’s body.
“We’re hurting and we just want to know where my sister is,” McDonald said.
