WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — A mystery continues to unfold in West Valley City as police look to identify a victim after a lone tongue was found inside an apartment complex parking lot following an incident last month.
On Sept. 5, West Valley City police responded to a call of a fight in progress at the Shadowbrook Apartments at 3860 S. Redwood Road.
When officers arrived, those involved in the incident had left, but a witness said he saw five men holding down another man and beating him with rocks.
While at the scene of the fight, the witness showed an officer a severed tongue that was sitting on nearby rocks, with blood nearby. Several rocks were located near the lone tongue, which the witness said were used to assault the victim.
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The witness claimed one of the suspects approached him after the altercation while still holding a rock and with an injury to his head. As the witness called 911, the entire group of suspects fled towards another part of the apartment complex before leaving in a red vehicle.
Following the incident, no hospitals in the surrounding area reported treating a patient for a severed tongue, and residents of the apartment complex could not provide additional information.
Detectives have since located the suspected victim and found that his tongue was intact, leading them to believe the tongue belonged to one of the attackers.
While there are currently no leads, police have requested a search warrant to obtain security video footage from a nearby rental car location that may help in the investigation.