Three men arrested in connection with the slaying of a 21-year-old woman at Jordanelle State Park will remain in the Salt Lake County Jail a little longer.

Extensions have been placed on 19-year-old Christopher Alvey, 22-year-old Joshua Binkerd and 29-year-old Jason Cowdell to have them held in the Salt Lake County Jail until Jan. 12. Alvey and Binkerd were being held Tuesday on $1 million bail and Cowdell on $500,000 bail.

All three were arrested in connection with the shooting death of Ashley Sparks on Dec. 26. Cowdell, according to investigators from Utah State Parks, drove Sparks to Jordanelle where Alvey was waiting. Sparks' body was found by a couple of park visitors. She died a short time later at a local hospital.

All three men were already well known to law enforcers and under investigation for other recent nonviolent crimes. After police from several jurisdictions, including the U.S. Marshals, Salt Lake Metro Gang Unit and Salt Lake police, received information about who they were looking for, they tracked Alvey and Binkerd down the next day. Cowdell was arrested Dec. 30.

When charges stemming from the homicide are filed, they will be filed in Wasatch County, according to Utah State Parks. Although homicide charges are pending, Alvey and Binkerd had new charges of theft and forgery filed Friday in 3rd District Court.

Alvey was charged with felony possession of a forgery writing device and misdemeanor theft by deception in connection with a Dec. 3 incident in Midvale in which he is accused of trying to cash a stolen check. Binkerd also was charged with theft, a second-degree felony stemming from an an incident in October.

A possible motive for the slaying had not been revealed by officials as of Tuesday. Sparks' mother, however, has told some media outlets her daughter was working as an undercover informant for police.

---

E-mail: preavy@desnews.com