West Valley police increase presence on anniversary of 2 linked killings

WEST VALLEY CITY — Isaias Gomez says his family has suffered a lot over the past three years.

On Feb. 9, 2008, Gomez's mother, 57-year-old Damiana Castillo, was strangled inside her apartment near 4000 South and Redwood Road.

The killing happened exactly two years after, and just a short distance away from where Sonia Mejia, 29, was killed.

Mejia, who was six months pregnant, was strangled to death inside her Taylorsville apartment at 1167 W. Clubhouse Drive (4000 South) on Feb. 9, 2006.

Wednesday, on the anniversaries of the two unsolved homicides that are believed to be linked, West Valley police said they would make a visible presence in the community.

Last year, on the anniversary of both deaths, the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office filed two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and aggravated sexual assault against a "John Doe" with a specific DNA profile in 3rd District Court.

Gomez told the Deseret News Wednesday that he hopes someone in the community will step forward with information that leads to the arrest of his mother's killer.

"We are suffering a lot," he said in Spanish. "We are waiting for something that can help us."

Gomez said his sister has been inconsolable since their mother was killed.

He described his mother was a "wonderful lady" who helped a lot of people. The family believes the killer and his mother might have known each other because there were no signs of forced entry into her apartment.

Gomez said he doesn't want to alarm the community, but he believes whoever was responsible could strike again.

The morning Mejia was killed in 2006, a witness spotted a man leaning against the door and talking with her, according to court records. That man was holding a bottle of soda pop and a bag of chips.

When Mejia's common-law husband returned from work that evening, he found her body on a bed with a dark blue bandanna around her mouth and a wire around her neck, court records state. A bag of Cheetos and a Coke were found in the doorway. An orange substance, appearing to be from Cheetos, was found on the woman's breast, the charges state.

Her car was found abandoned at a motel four days later.

Wednesday, West Valley police were making extra patrols in apartment complexes throughout the city to "deal with anything that looked suspicious," said West Valley Police Sgt. Mike Powell.

"We're making a visual presence today," he said.

Detectives also want to remind the public that a phone line to take tips about the case is still set up at 801-965-5121.

"There are people out there who haven't come forward who know something," Powell said. "The information (coming into detectives) has slowed drastically. We want to try and re-spark that interest in the community. We are still missing pieces to the puzzle. We want some resolution for the community and the family."

Contributing: Reinaldo Escobar

E-mail: preavy@desnews.com Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam