SALEM, Utah — Fox 13 News is learning about the arrest of 23-year-old Isaiah Ramos following the death of his aunt.
The initial call
On Aug. 31 around 9:24 a.m., Salem Police responded to 926 South 880 West after learning of an unresponsive female inside a home. Dispatch provided the caller, later identified as Ramos, with instructions to perform CPR on the woman.
The victim was identified as Ramos' aunt, Carla Anderson.
Officers were let inside the house by Ramos, and discovered Anderson to be "beyond help of life saving measures" on the floor of the primary bedroom. Ramos shared with police that he had moved Anderson's body to the ground so he could perform CPR.
Police also found that jewelry boxes inside the house and Anderson's purse had been "rummaged through."
Ramos' interview
Salem PD learned that he had recently moved out of Anderson's house and into a renovated blue bus. Hitched to the bus, police said, was a motorcycle. Ramos said that he left the home on Aug. 30 for a road trip, camped overnight at a truck stop in Mona, and returned to Anderson's home to retrieve a box of spatulas he had left behind.
During the interview, police also noticed scratch on Ramos' arms that he explained were eczema marks.
Continued investigation
After looking for Ramos' vehicles through the Flock Camera Database, Salem PD found Ramos' motorcycle in use at a time he claimed to be asleep in his bus in Mona. Ramos said he had no explanation for this incident. Police allowed him to leave, but asked that he remain reachable during the investigation.
The Utah Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy of Anderson. Her injuries which included broken thyroid cartilage, hemorrhaging around the esophagus, and bite marks on her tongue, were consistent with death by strangulation.
Ramos' apprehension
On Sept. 1, Salem Police were contacted by Ramos' mother after losing contact with him, prompting officials to launch a search. Utah County Deputies found Ramos' bus in Payson Canyon. Ramos told investigators that he had made two attempts of his life, and was involuntarily committed for mental health treatment at Spanish Fork Hospital.
Through surveillance footage placing Ramos in Salem when Anderson died, the scratch marks consistent with defensive wounds on Ramos' arms, and the fact that that Ramos knowingly stood to inherit 50% of Anderson's estate upon her death, officials found probably cause to arrest him.
What happens now?
Ramos was booked into the Utah County Jail without incident on Sept. 4. The following charges were filed against him:
- Aggravated murder
- Aggravated burglary
- Obstruction of justice
- Abuse/desecration of a dead human body (which police said occurred when he moved Anderson's body "in the guise of rendering aid")
Court documents show that Ramos was ordered to be held without bail, citing danger to the community and likelihood to flee if released.
