This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Salt Lake City police Monday were tight-lipped about progress in their probe of 19-year-old Sione Fakatoufifita's shooting death, even as the victim's fiancée remained behind bars for allegedly lying to investigators about the case.
Morgan Maree Janet Holst, 18, remained in Salt Lake County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bond on suspicion of second-degree felony obstruction of justice. She was booked into jail on April 16, three days after Fakatoufifita was fatally shot in the parking lot of the Maverik gas station at 1680 S. Redwood Road.
Detective Rick Wall could not detail specifics about what led police to arrest Holst, other than to say detectives "continue to work diligently on this case and are interviewing different witnesses."
A probable-cause statement submitted at the time of Holst's booking shed only a little more light on the charge.
"On four different occasions April 13, April 15 and twice on April 16 [Holst] was interviewed," the statement noted. "During these interviews the [defendant] lied several times to detectives about the details of her involvement with the deceased victim."
It was during the final interview, detectives said, that Holst — after being read her rights — "continued to lie … and admitted that she had lied several times in previous interviews."
While lacking details on the purported lies, the statement did conclude by claiming that Holst "was the last to see the victim alive."
Police responded to a shots-fired call at Maverik at about 1:15 a.m. on April 13, finding Fakatoufifita's body in the north parking lot.
Investigators continue to seek a suspect in the shooting described as a Polynesian man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt over a white T-shirt and dark jeans.
Witnesses told police they saw the suspect run northeast across Redwood Road after the shooting, where he was almost hit by a car.
Police continue to ask that anyone with information about the case call them at 801-799-3000.
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