No formal criminal charges have been filed yet in the beating death of Benjamin Perkins-Link, 19, who died Friday.
Christopher Allen Hewitt, 18, was with Perkins-Link and another young man, Seth Coleman, in a parking area near the Olympus Cove neighborhood Friday when Hewitt allegedly started beating the two with a metal rod or pipe, according to police reports.
Coleman got away and shouted for help, and people nearby called 911, according to police spokesmen.
Hewitt has been booked into the Salt Lake County Jail.
But Robert Stott, public information officer and a prosecutor with the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, said the office had not received any information from the sheriff's office as of Tuesday and that the case is still under investigation.
Stott said he anticipates formal charges might be filed in the next day or two.
Paul Jaroscak, public information officer for the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office, said deputies are investigating Perkins-Link's death and Coleman's beating.
Jaroscak said the sheriff's office plans to search Hewitt's vehicle, which was taken into custody early Saturday.
Meanwhile, Don Link, the father of Benjamin Perkins-Link, told KSL-TV that his son was a good-natured young man who loved the outdoors and such activities as basketball, bodysurfing and golf and that he adored his dog.
He said his son had endured some serious difficulties in recent years but had rebounded. His father said Perkins-Link was in a car accident in 2005 that put him in the hospital for three weeks and required multiple operations. However, Link said his son had finished high school and was busily making plans, possibly to attend community college and work toward a career as a physical therapy assistant.
"He always loved working with people," Link told KSL-TV. "He always said he wanted to help people."
A funeral for Perkins-Link will be held today at 2 p.m. at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary, 3401 Highland Drive. Visitation will be for a half-hour before the funeral.
E-mail: lindat@desnews.com