2 men, 1 teen arrested in brutal Capitol Hill stabbing death

SALT LAKE CITY — Two men and a teenager have been arrested in connection with a brutal early morning stabbing death of another man in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

Azerereth Yazzie, 22, was found in the street with multiple stab wounds near 1 East and 540 North about 1:30 a.m. Yazzie was conscious at the time, but his condition quickly declined and he later died at a local hospital.

Investigators followed a blood trail from where they found Yazzie, through an alley and across the street to 31 E. Girard Ave. (540 North). Inside, detectives found a 17-year-old boy whom they took to police headquarters for questioning, said Salt Lake Police Sgt. Shawn Josephson. Investigators located two men nearby and took them in for questioning a short time later.

By late afternoon, police announced they had arrested all three for investigation of aggravated murder and obstruction of justice. The teen, whose name has not yet been released, was booked into Salt Lake Juvenile Detention. Ammon Karr, 21, and Adam Scott Karr, 26, were both booked into the Salt Lake County Jail.

It wasn't clear Tuesday how the men are related.

The incident began when an unknown person called 911 about 1:30 a.m. using an inactive cellphone. "This individual reported a man down and bleeding," Josephson said.

Witnesses told investigators that the Karrs and the 17-year-old were "engaged in a physical confrontation with the victim" prior to the stabbing, a Salt Lake County Jail report states.

Adam Karr then "produced a knife and stabbed the victim several times," according to the report. He then gathered up bloody clothing and the alleged murder weapon, "concealed it at another location and fled the scene."

The teenager also got into a fight with Yazzie, and after he was stabbed, "dragged the victim to a nearby alley and stomped on the victim's face," the report states. He then tried to hide evidenced by washing the blood off his clothes.

Detectives continued looking Tuesday for two young women believed to be witnesses to the incident, said Josephson. The only information Josephson had Tuesday about the women was that their names are believed to be Marissa and Juliette. Both are between 18 and 20 years old.

Marissa is about 5 feet 3 inches tall, 110 pounds with blond, shoulder-length hair, Josephson said. Juliette is about 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing 110 pounds with brown hair that falls below her shoulders. They were last seen driving a blue car.

A motive for the stabbing was not immediately available Tuesday, but Josephson said there was no indication that it was connected to any of the other recent incidents in the city, including shots being fired in the area of 1800 West and 1500 North Monday night and a fatal shooting near  440 N. Grant St. (740 West) over the weekend.