Charges may be filed Monday in South Salt Lake girl's slaying

SOUTH SALT LAKE — Charges against the man accused of kidnapping and killing a 7-year-old girl at his apartment complex may be filed Monday, prosecutors say.

Esar Met, 21, remained in the Salt Lake County Jail Friday on $250,000 bail for investigation of aggravated murder, child kidnapping and evidence tampering. However, a no-bail immigration detainer was also placed on Met. Jail records also showed an extension has been filed to keep Met in jail until charges are filed in 3rd District Court or until Tuesday.

Meanwhile, as a makeshift memorial of flowers, notes, candles, stuffed animals and signs for Hser Nay Moo grew in front of the South Parc apartments, 2250 S. 500 East, residents of the complex, including Moo's family, tried to slowly resume their lives without being under the media spotlight.

South Salt Lake police said they had received numerous complaints about the media presence on the apartment complex property from the managers of the facility and asked reporters and photographers to respectfully stay on the sidewalk outside the complex or risk being issued a trespassing citation.

"Give them time to grieve," said South Salt Lake police detective Gary Keller.

Moo was kidnapped Monday afternoon and her body found inside an apartment about 50 yards away from her own on Tuesday night. Police believe Moo was killed within the first hour of disappearing.

The South Parc apartment complex is home to refugees from many countries. During a meeting Thursday night in which police tried to ease the fears of South Parc tenants, South Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Snyder said seven interpreters were used.

Some of the tenants used to live in refugee camps in Thailand. Cartoon and Pearlie Wah, Moo's parents, were exiled from their home in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, and lived in two Thai refugee camps for 23 years before moving to Utah seven months ago. The Burmese military shelled and burned down the camp where they lived from 1984 to 1995, interpreter Justin Dolan said. They fled and sought refuge in another camp for the next 12 years.

Met also lived in South Parc with four other refugee men. Those men were questioned by police and eventually released but were immediately evicted from their apartment by management after the interrogations. New housing was reportedly found for the men, however, before they were told to leave South Parc.

Met came to Utah only within the past 30 days. The rest of his family, including his mother, have been in Utah only two weeks.

Some Utahns who have helped the refugees settle into their new lives have said there was a communal feeling of living among the Burmese refugees in the complex.