SLCPD Detectives Arrest Suspect in Homicide

SALT LAKE CITY — Detectives with the Salt Lake City Police Department’s Homicide Squad have arrested a 26-year-old in connection to the suspicious death investigation occurring at the Quality Inn in downtown.

This investigation started on Friday, February 11, 2022, when officers received information from the University of Utah Police Department of a man who made threats to kill his girlfriend.

During the investigation, the University of Utah Police Department developed information about the potential location of the suspect in Salt Lake City.

At 6:06 a.m. SLCPD patrol officers responded to 616 South 200 West to assist the University of Utah Police Department with their investigation and to conduct a welfare check.

When law enforcement entered the motel room, they located 26-year-old Haoyu Wang and a 19-year-old non-responsive woman.

SLCPD officers took Wang into custody and immediately began rendering immediate first aid to the woman, but paramedics determined she was already deceased.

Paramedics checked on Wang to confirm he did not need any medical assistance.

During their investigation, detectives assigned to the SLCPD Homicide Squad learned Wang claimed he killed the victim and then attempted to kill himself by reportedly injecting himself with drugs.

Detectives also learned Wang and the woman were in a romantic relationship and had been living together. As such, this case is being investigated as a domestic violence-related homicide.

Wang has been booked into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on a charge of murder.

The victim is not being identified at this time to allow notification of her death to her family.

No additional information on this case can be released at this time.

Media availability with the SLCPD PIO at the Public Safety Building, located at 475 South 300 East, will be scheduled later this afternoon. A media notification will go out ASAP once a time is confirmed.

Charges are only allegations, and every arrested person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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