A preliminary hearing has been set for a man accused of murdering a man and then dumping his body in West Valley City.
Darren N. Grueber Jr., 18, was charged Oct. 30 with murder and aggravated kidnapping. He is accused of killing Don M. Dorton, 36, and dumping his body along a dirt road near 4186 S. and 8400 West Oct. 13.
Dorton's body was found by a couple walking their dog. His hands and feet were bound with duct tape.
According to a search warrant returned to 3rd District Court Friday, Dorton was found wrapped from the waist to the neck in some kind of sheet. A green and blue flannel sheet was also duct taped around his head, according to court documents.
The cause of death was determined by the State Medical Examiner to be blunt force trauma to the head. An anonymous caller told Salt Lake County Sheriff's investigators that Dorton was beaten to death because he attempted to steal methamphetamine from a residence near 4100 South and the Bangerter Highway, according to the search warrant.
On Oct. 17, detectives took the contents of six garbage cans that were in front of the house, court documents stated. Investigators found pieces of gray duct tape similar to the type used to restrain Dorton, according to court documents. Investigators also found strands of red hair embedded in a piece of tape that were the same color as Dorton's hair, according to the search warrant.
Another piece of tape had fibers embedded in it that were consistent with the color of the flannel sheet wrapped around Dorton's head, court documents stated.
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