A 21-year-old Utah man, Rowdy Lee Aguilar, was found guilty of the 2021 killing of his 15-year-old friend, Ivan “Nick” Vetecnik. Aguilar, who was 17 at the time, stabbed Vetecnik to death. Then, he dismembered him and dumped his body parts in garbage bags.
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According to a release issued by the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office, Aguilar pleaded guilty with a mental condition to aggravated murder. He will be held in a youth secure care facility until he turns 25. Then, he will be transferred to the Utah State Correctional Facility to serve the remainder of his sentence.
Aguilar will be sentenced on December 5, 2025. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
“This tragic loss of life shocked not only our community, but people around the world,” Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said. “We hope that this conviction helps the victim’s family feel they have received a measure of justice and accountability for the death of their loved one. We hope they may now begin to heal from the trauma of their loss.”
Horrifying Murder
Vetecnik’s body was found by a witness inside a cargo trailer on May 26, 2021. The cargo trailer was located near Aguilar’s home in Taylorsville, Utah. Authorities found that the 15-year-old had been stabbed close to thirty times. Horrifyingly, his body had been “partially dismembered.”
Parts of Vetecnik’s body were found stuffed in garbage bags, which were dumped near the cargo trailer.
Security video footage showed that Aguilar and Vetecnik entered the former’s house at around 10 a.m.. Then, at 1:20 p.m., Aguilar reentered his home, this time by himself. The video showed his shirt with what appeared to be noticeable blood stains.
Then, a business security camera captured Aguilar carrying items that were “consistent” with the aforementioned garbage bags. Authorities matched the DNA found on a bloody leather glove and on a knife left behind in the cargo trailer to both Aguilar and Vetecnik.
Court documents shared by Vetecnik’s sister, Samantha VanTreese, detailed that Aguilar initially claimed that he had been at his girlfriend’s house all day. Furthermore, the then-17-year-old claimed that the blood on his clothes came from cutting his own hands.
Eventually, Rowdy Lee Aguilar admitted to killing Vetecnik, saying, “I did it.”
A GoFundMe launched to cover Vetecnik’s funeral expenses is still active.