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South Salt Lake • Police on Friday afternoon said they now believe a man first killed his fiancée and then himself at a four-plex here Friday morning.
Police spokesman Gary Keller said the Medical Examiner's Office has determined the woman died of blunt force trauma. He declined to say how the man was killed, or what has led investigators to now treat the deaths as a murder-suicide.
"There's no indication of anyone being shot by a gun," said Keller, who added there was no forced entry into the apartment in the bottom-right unit of the building at 3372 S. 200 East.
Police were called to the apartment at 6:24 a.m. Keller said three men lived in the apartment, but the female victim did not.
While police have not yet officially identified the victims, their families spoke about the slayings Friday. A group of friends and family stood in shock throughout the day waiting to hear new information.
Just two weeks ago, Brigham Jimenez's cousin came over to his house for dinner and to show the family the ring. She was to be married in June.
"There was going to be a wedding in June, then this tragedy happened," Jimenez said.
He said he didn't see any problems between Berenisse Torres and her fiancé, 21-year-old Cesar Bastidas.
"They loved each other very much from my point of view," Jimenez said.
He said they didn't complain about stress of planning a wedding, the couple just expressed happiness.
"She was very excited for the wedding," he said.
Torres, 23, leaves behind a 6-year-old son from a previous relationship, Jimenez said. The boy is being taken care of by family.
The bodies were initially found by a roommate, police said.
Bill Coller, who manages the property, said he was surprised by the deaths. There were no previous complaints or calls about the unit's tenants, who had lived there for more than a year, he said.
The woman who lives directly above the unit told Coller she heard nothing during the night.
"Nobody believed [this] because he was so quiet," a friend of the deceased, Juan Gonzales, said.
Twitter: @CimCity