Officials charge twice-deported illegal immigrant for girlfriend's murder.

In December, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, suspected of killing his Utah girlfriend, was deported. However, he returned to Utah just days before her body was discovered in Tooele.

On New Year's Day, Talia Benward, a 31-year-old woman from Kearns, was last seen at a Maverik store in West Jordan around 3:15 p.m. Her body was later discovered in a remote area of Tooele, which is about a 45-minute drive from West Jordan.

On Sunday, the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake announced that Nestor Rocha-Aguayo, a 24-year-old from Sinaloa, Mexico, had been arrested in connection with the disappearance and murder of Benward.

ICE spokesperson confirms to Planet Chronicle Digital that Aguayo-Rocha is a Mexican national who was deported twice from the US.

On Sept. 1, 2016, he entered the country illegally near Calexico, California. Years later, he was convicted on local charges and an officer with Enforcement and Removal Operations placed a detainer with the Salt Lake County Metro Jail in Utah on Jan. 22, 2024.

On April 30, he returned to Mexico after an immigration judge granted him voluntary departure and he was taken into custody by ERO officials on April 2.

In November, ERO officers found Rocha-Aguayo at the Salt Lake County Metro Jail, where he was being held on local charges after illegally reentering the United States at an unknown date and location.

On December 24, Rocha-Aguayo was once again taken into custody by ERO officials and subsequently returned to Mexico.

An ICE spokesperson informed Planet Chronicle Digital that he entered the U.S. for the third time without being admitted by an immigration official.

On January 5, Rocha-Aguayo was arrested by U.S. Marshals on charges of aggravated murder, abuse or desecration of a dead human being, aggravated robbery, and other charges. A detainer was also placed with Salt Lake County Metro Jail by ERO on the same day.

According to court documents obtained by FOX 13 Salt Lake City, surveillance video footage shows Benward arriving at the Maverik gas station in a borrowed vehicle on New Year's Day, with Rocha-Aguayo getting into the passenger seat. The two then began arguing, rolling up their windows and appearing to be engaged in a heated dispute.

According to FOX 13, they were together for several hours before their phones stopped tracking their location while driving back to Salt Lake City, with Benward continuing on to Tooele.

The detectives discovered blood stains in the vehicle the couple was driving together. Later, they found Benward's body covered in sticks behind some brush in a remote area of the interstate. Additionally, they discovered the remnants of a floor mat that matched the floor mats inside the vehicle.

The court documents reveal that he had prior charges from the previous year, including robbery, aggravated assault, property damage, two counts of possession with intent to distribute, failure to stop at the command of a law enforcement officer, reckless driving, interfering with a peace officer, operating a vehicle on an unopen street, burglary, assault, and unlawful detention.

He was also involved in multiple domestic violence incidents with Benward.

The police are investigating Benward's death as a homicide and are asking for any information to be sent to 801-840-4000. Please reference case CO25-473. Anonymous tips are accepted.