Man charged with murder, woman shot in her SLC apartment

SALT LAKE CITY — A 20-year-old man is facing felony charges after police found him with his dead girlfriend in late September.

Jayden Wade Fernelius, 20, was charged in the Salt Lake County Third District Court with first-degree felony murder, first-degree felony discharge of a firearm with serious bodily injury, third-degree felony discharge of a firearm, and a third-degree felony of possession or use of a firearm by a restricted person on Wednesday.

On Sept. 25, Salt Lake City police officers responded to the Downtown West Liberty Apartments complex at approximately 8:25 p.m. on a report of a woman who had been shoot, according to court documents.

Officers found the victim, 24-year-old Lyberdee Cisneros, on the floor of her apartment unit with two gunshot wounds. Fernelius was in the apartment with a 9mm handgun in his right pocket with a male witness.

Cisneros was transported to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to court documents.

Police found four bullet holes and three shell casings in the apartment; one bullet created a hole in the front door and the outside hallway wall, another bullet created a hole on the apartment floor, and a third bullet created a hole in a cabinet inside the apartment.

Cisneros and Fernelius were in a domestic relationship for two years, with evidence of past domestic violence found in phone recordings, according to police.

Fernelius gave a post-Miranda interview with police and changed his story several times, according to court documents.

“(Fernelius) claimed that Cisneros shot herself in the head in front of him, claimed that he wasn’t in the apartment when it happened, claimed that someone else shot her, claimed he was at work, and claimed he was outside with (the witness) when they heard gunshots and went up to the apartment together,” state court documents.

Fernelius also admitted he smoked “a little weed” before the shooting.

“At the end of the interview, Fernelius asked the detective to remove his handcuffs, and when he was denied, he told the detective, ‘I will shoot you too.'”, according to court documents.

Woman killed, boyfriend arrested after SLC apartment complex shooting

Police interviewed the male witness, who said he was walking to another apartment building when he heard two gunshots before hearing a third. A man at a picnic table directed him to the building and unit where the shots were heard.

According to court documents, the witness went to the apartment, and Fernelius answered the door.

“(The witness) went inside and observed Cisneros lying face down on the floor in the living room in a pool of blood,” state court documents. “(The witness) saw a gun on the kitchen table. (He) asked Fernelius if he killed her, and he said he didn’t.”

The witness told police that Fernelius said he wanted to kill himself, and he told Fernelius to call 911 multiple times before Fernelius finally did.

According to court documents, the witness used his clothing to cover Cisneros’s bullet wounds to stop the bleeding before police arrived.

A Utah medical examiner preliminarily determined that Cisneros died from two gunshot wounds and ruled it a homicide. The examiner stated that there is no evidence of the wounds being self-inflicted.

Fernelius is also a member of a known violent street gang and is a part of a separate case involving the theft of an AK-47 from a private seller.

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Domestic violence resources

If you or someone you know is going through abuse, help is available.

• The Utah Domestic Violence Coalition operates a confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic abuse hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465).
• Resources are also available online at the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition website.

There are several ways the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition can help people. Previous examples include providing financial assistance for funerals, moving, and counseling that helps people find a different path or stay healthy and safe and the relationship they’re in.