HERRIMAN, Utah — Police say a man was murdered over the weekend after being lured to a location under the guise of buying car parts.
Herriman Police said 60-year-old Kevin Van Beuge was reported missing by his family on Saturday.
Investigators later found Van Beuge's truck in Taylorsville, with blood on and around it. They obtained security camera footage from a nearby home that showed the truck arriving and a man getting out of it, holding a gun.
Van Beuge's family told police that he left home to meet with someone to buy car parts. They didn't know who he was meeting, but police found Venmo transactions between him and Jeffrey Mauricio Lopez. They also determined that Lopez, 32, lived near the spot where Van Beuge's truck was left.
GPS coordinates obtained via search warrants led them to a remote area of Tooele County, where they found a shallow grave. They found a body buried there, and later confirmed it to be Van Beuge. An autopsy determined that he died from gunshot wounds to the chest and arm.
Additional GPS data showed Van Beuge visiting a business in Murray. Detectives went there and found Lopez there, then took him into custody.
Lopez agreed to speak with investigators after being told of his Miranda rights. He said he had met with Van Beuge multiple times to sell him car parts, and they did so again on Saturday morning. He claimed they went together to different ATMs across Salt Lake, Tooele and Wasatch counties for Van Beuge to withdraw money. He said Van Beuge then got picked up by someone else and left his truck with Lopez, who left it at a predetermined location to be picked up later.
However, investigators obtained security camera footage from the ATM transactions that showed a lone man in a "homemade mask" attempting to withdraw cash. Some of the transactions failed. Further security camera footage allegedly showed Lopez driving Van Beuge's truck to a grocery store and buying materials to make the mask.
Police added in the arrest report that Lopez drove around with Van Beuge dead in the back of his own truck for over a day until he found a secluded spot to bury his body.
Lopez was booked on suspicion of aggravated murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, and desecration of a body.
Van Beuge's brother sent the following statement to FOX 13 News:
"Kevin worked incredibly hard and countless hours to provide for his family. A grandfather to 7 he was looking forward to adding another grandchild to his family that is due next month on his very own birthday.
"With all the work he did, again many many hours of overtime, he often showed us how generous his heart was as he would volunteer to provide ways to extended family members when he saw a need. Both by paying out of his own pocket or volunteering his time to work on projects for them. From fixing cars, funding care for others to bathroom remodels Kevin was always working to help."
