Police investigating the robbery and killing of a Motel 6 clerk Tuesday night have little to go on, with no witnesses and only a sketchy description of two men they believe might be involved.
Night clerk Matthew John Whicker, 30, was shot and killed in the 9 p.m. holdup.Motel managers heard the shots from their apartment at the motel and called police, Police Chief Paul Howard said, but there were apparently no eyewitnesses.
Howard said nearby business owners reported suspicious activities of two black men in a large, dark green car, possibly a Cadillac, who were seen about that time near the motel, 2433 S. 800 West, about one-half mile from I-15.
They are currently the only suspects in the shooting, Howard said. The victim was working by himself when he was shot in the motel lobby.
Officers stopped cars that vaguely matched the description provided after the robbery, Howard said, but no arrests were made.
Police have no further description of the two men or a license plate number, Howard said.
Dispatchers said the gun used was a .38-caliber revolver. Police are not sure how many shots were fired. Evidence at the scene indicates there may have been a struggle. "We're gathering physical evidence now to be processed by the state crime lab," Howard said Wednesday morning in the Motel 6 parking lot.
The chief did not say how much money the robbery netted, only that it was a small amount.
Police interviewed most of the motel's overnight customers, who were allowed to remain in their rooms throughout the night. "Most (residents) probably weren't aware of what had happened," Howard said.
The parking lot surrounding the motel, which lies between a Denny's restaurant and a Hampton Inn, remained taped off Wednesday morning as the investigation continued.
This is the first homicide Woods Cross, with a population of about 6,000, has had in about 15 years, Howard said. The Motel 6 has been robbed before, he said.
The victim and his wife, Katrina, celebrated their eighth wedding anniversary this month. They have two children, Brennan, 5, and Bethany, 2.
Whicker was described by his father-in-law, Jerry Jensen, as a upbeat person who worked part time at Motel 6 while he attended the University of Utah. Whicker had been with the motel chain for several years, working as a night clerk during the school year and maintaining swimming pools at Motel 6 locations around the West in the summer, Jensen said.
Possessing both private and commercial pilot's licenses, Whicker's dream was to be an airline pilot, Jensen said. Whicker's father, Ben, is a flight engineer for UPS.
Whicker grew up in Kaysville and attended local schools. He served an LDS mission in Michigan and was a Persian Gulf War veteran, having served in military intelligence with the Army's 3rd Armored Division.