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Prosecutors have charged three men with last week's fatal stabbing of a 25-year-old man in Holladay.
Talon L. Hamann, 18, was charged Friday with first-degree felony homicide, as well as obstructing justice, a second-degree felony, and tampering with a witness, a third-degree felony, in 3rd District Court. Austin S. Taylor, 20, and Ryan G. Curtz, 18, were also charged with obstructing justice and misdemeanor assault.
All three men are from Holladay.
Police believe Michael Workman, 25, was leaving a friend's house on the 1600 East block of Delaware Lane (4945 South), when he was confronted by the three men Aug. 23 at about 3 a.m. in the parking lot of a nearby church.
Unified Police Lt. Justin Hoyal said the men did not know Workman, but they knew the woman with whom he had argued at the get-together earlier that night. She told the men about the dispute, and it went from there, Hoyal said. Investigators are still trying to determine what the argument was about.
Curtz and Workman started fighting, and Taylor joined in, helping to get Workman on to the ground. Meanwhile, Hamann stabbed him with a knife in the legs and torso, according to charging documents. Investigators have said the trio left Workman to die, driving away with 18-year-old Shalynn Caro, who also had driven the men to the scene.
Police say Caro was not the woman involved in the argument with Workman.
Workman's body was discovered about 7:30 a.m. Aug. 23.
Caro drove to a Salt Lake County residence where Hamann and Taylor removed their blood-stained clothing, according to charging documents. Hamann took the clothes and knife and said he was "taking care of this," the charges state.
Hamann also called a female who was at the get-together and told her a story to tell the police that did not place Hamann at the site of the homicide, and told her not to "snitch,"according to the charges.
Another female who was at the get-together later heard Hamann say that the knife was now in Utah Lake, according to the charges. Hoyal said police are still looking for the weapon.
Police arrested Hamann on Aug. 24 at a downtown Salt Lake City Motel 6. Taylor and Caro, who are engaged to be married, according to their Facebook pages, were found at a Holladay home. Police found Curtz at another home several hours later.
The three men were booked into Salt Lake County jail. Caro was arrested on suspicion of obstruction of justice, though as of Friday she had not been charged.