Police in Utah said Tuesday that had arrested two teenagers in connection with the murder of a 21-year-old trans man who may have been abducted on Sunday.
Taylorsville Police said the two teens — a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old — were charged with multiple felonies in connection with the death of Alexzia Franco, who police said “goes by the name Alex and identifies as male,” KTVX reported.
“The investigation so far has not revealed that this was a hate crime,” Lt. Aaron Cheshire of Taylorsville Police said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Franco’s body was found in a “remote desert area in Utah County” on Tuesday morning. The cause of death was apparently a gunshot wound, but the medical examiner will make the determination on that.
Police said witnesses saw Franco get into a white Jeep Liberty Sunday afternoon at about 4:15, and the witnesses reported hearing a possible gunshot. Cheshire said the incident took place near Franco’s home and that police had recovered video footage from the scene that “clearly identified the sound reported by witnesses as a gunshot.”
Franco apparently knew at least one of the people in the Jeep and got into the vehicle willingly, Cheshire said. Investigators are trying to determine what led to the shooting.
Investigators found a vehicle they believed to be the Jeep on Monday and arrested the two teenagers. They executed search warrants on the vehicle, and it was confirmed to be the vehicle involved.
Taylorsville police believe one of the teens pulled the trigger and killed Franco. The weapon has not been recovered.
