Tooele County sheriff's deputies say a fire that led to the discovery of a body in a burning car's back seat was a homicide.

Two men were apparently meant to die in the fire, but the second man survived. He was found crawling in the desert on Sunday with burns on 54 percent of his body.

"He's still in critical but stable condition," Tooele County Sheriff's Lt. Duke North said Thursday.

The Tooele County Sheriff's Office was keeping tight-lipped about the investigation, releasing only a few details.

On Sunday morning, a driver on I-80 noticed a car on fire north of the freeway near the Delle exit. That driver called 911 and police responded, finding a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder engulfed in flames. In the back seat, the sheriff said they found the charred body of a 29-year-old man.

Deputies would not say how the man died, saying it is crucial to their investigation and tracking down the killer.

A 24-year-old man was found a short distance away, severely burned. He was flown to University Hospital's burn unit where he was placed in a medically induced coma.

Investigating the crime, deputies said they are struggling to come up with a motive.

"We've got lots of theories but we haven't nailed anything down," said North. "It's very extreme, it's very brutal, it's a horrendous crime."

Deputies would not release the names of the victims, pending notification of next of kin. Investigators also admitted they were struggling to get information because of a social and language barrier with the family and friends of the two Hispanic men.

"They don't trust law enforcement and we can't get the answers we need," North said.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Tooele County Sheriff's Office at 435-882-5600.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com