WEST VALLEY CITY -- New court documents unsealed by a judge on Friday reveal police believe 12-year-old Kailey Vijil was sexually assaulted and murdered by a 15-year-old boy.
On July 17, police searched the West Valley City home of the teen searching for DNA evidence, including blood and bodily fluids from both the boy and Vijil. Police later served a warrant on the boy for his DNA.
West Valley City Police revealed in a search warrant affidavit they found the girl in a field naked with a piece of clothing wrapped around her neck. Her pajamas were found nearby and there were scratch marks on her body, police wrote, as well as blood on her legs.
Police write in the affidavit that the boy's mother woke him from sleeping around 7:30 a.m. on the same day as the homicide, "and he was picked up for school at the approximate time of 8:15 a.m."
Under questioning by police, detectives wrote in the affidavit that they observed "a small amount of red substance that is believed to be consistent with blood on the right shoe (the boy) was wearing." In the warrants, police said they seized faded blue denim shorts with a "red/brown stain."
The boy acknowledged under questioning that he was with a girl "matching the description of" Vijil.
Salt Lake County prosecutors are seeking to try the teen as an adult for Vijil's murder because of the severity of the crime, but he has not been charged with sexual assault. District Attorney Sim Gill declined to comment on the warrant, citing the ongoing investigation into Vijil's murder.
Clayton Simms, a criminal defense attorney who has represented juvenile defendants in the past (and is not connected to this case) said could be many reasons why prosecutors have not charged a sexual assault. He noted that DNA test results have not come back yet, but prosecutors may also find some difficulty proving a rape occurred.
"When you have murder charges, you don't need extra punishment," he told FOX 13. "That's sufficient punishment to cover all of the activities. The prosecutor may think this may make the case more difficult and may distract from the issues."
It wouldn't stop prosecutors from bringing up their suspicions as they seek to have a judge certify the boy as an adult, Simms said. But if prosecutors were to amend their charges and add sexual assault, he said it would need to happen before those hearings on whether the boy should face charges in adult court happen.
The boy, whom FOX 13 is not naming because he is a juvenile, is due back before a juvenile court judge on August 27.
