ROOSEVELT — Detectives with the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office planned on spending most of Friday collecting evidence from the scene of a double homicide.
The investigation began about 12:15 a.m. when deputies responded to a call of shots fired at a house in Roosevelt near 12000 West and 850 North. When they arrived, they found Jon Reed Jr., 22, of Roosevelt, dead of stab wounds and Tyrell Sowsonicut, 23, of Duchesne, had been shot to death, said Duchesne County Sheriff Travis Tucker.
Both men are tribal members, he said.
As of mid-morning Friday, Tucker did not have any information about suspects or a motive. He also could not say whether the two men may have attacked each other. However, Tucker said detectives do not believe there is any outstanding danger to the public.
The men were killed while attending a Halloween party at the house with 15 to 20 others. The two victims knew each other, the sheriff said. Some people were still in the house when deputies arrived and were interviewed, but detectives were also trying Friday to round up others who left the house before they arrived.
Sowsonicut was found dead inside the house. Reed was found dead outside, near an entrance to the house. Tucker said the bodies were found “in close proximity to each other.”
An undisclosed number of weapons were recovered from the scene.
Tucker called it “an extensive crime scene” that would take most of the day to go through. He said alcohol was likely a factor.
The sheriff also confirmed that deputies were familiar with the house and had been called there in the past. Sowsonicut had at least two warrants out for his arrest at the time he was killed, according to court records.
In 2015, Sowsonicut was arrested for the shooting death of a 20-year-old man on the Uintah-Ouray Indian Reservation. The shooting was determined to be an accident. Still, he pleaded guilty to criminal homicide and was sentenced to three years at a detention center in Yuma, Arizona.
Upon his return to Utah, he was convicted of assault by a prisoner in July. A warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to show up for a court hearing in August, according to court records.