WEST WENDOVER, Utah — The suspect accused of killing a West Wendover man earlier this summer has formally been charged with first-degree murder, with court documents using the words "depravity" to describe the crime.
Goeffry Goldsborough was arrested last month in connection with the death of Salvador Cornejo Pedraza, who went missing on June 20 after he had left his West Wendover home.
Pedraza's family had reported him missing two days after he left for work at a local casino, but failed to show up on back-to-back days. His body was found weeks later, on July 10, near the Bonneville Salt Flats, with an autopsy showing Pedraza had been shot multiple times.
Nearly 3 weeks earlier, Pedraza's Isuzu Rodeo was discovered along Interstate 80 near the UDOT Echo Port of Entry by the Utah-Wyoming border.
"The family stated that they are surprised that the victim’s vehicle made it that far and reiterated that the victim did not have any money for gas," the charging documents state.
While at the scene where the Isuzu was discovered, the Wendover Fire Assistant Chief said he saw a man near where it was found, who identified himself as "Geoff."
"The Assistant Fire Chief asked the male what he was doing and the male stated he was walking back to his white Isuzu Rodeo that was by the water plant. The male then changed his words and told the Assistant Fire Chief that he was actually going back to his white Dodge truck," according to the documents.
After losing sight of the man, the Assistant Fire Chief told detectives that he was in a hurry and was carrying a jug believed to be filled with vinegar.
Using open source information, detectives identified the man as Goldsborough and learned through a tip that he was in the process of moving. Goldsborough had also previously put in his two weeks' notice at his job.
One of Goldsborough's coworkers said he had recently spoken of "carjacking" someone so he could get back to Wyoming, and that Goldsborough had asked if his coworker knew how to hotwire a vehicle.
Through surveillance cameras, it was learned that Goldsborough's white Dodge Ram was seen passing by the Echo Port of Entry on June 23, when the Isuzu was discovered nearby. Photographs of the mismatched tires on Goldsborough's Dodge matched those of tracks found next to Pedraza's body.
After a further investigation, including looking into phone records, Goldsborough was taken into custody and deemed a flight risk because of his "nomadic" type of life, where court documents claimed he does not remain in place for long.
"Furthermore, [Pedraza] was shot by more than one type of firearm, which shows an amount of depravity from the defendant that demonstrates that he is a public safety risk," the court documents concluded.
