EXCLUSIVE: Musician’s murder still unsolved after 25 years — family mourns on the anniversary of the killing

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Decades after a musician was shot and killed in Salt Lake City following a performance, police have yet to find the killer. ABC4.com spoke with the victim’s family in an exclusive interview on the anniversary of the murder.

On July 23, 2000, just after 3 a.m., Sai Foisia, 25, of Carson, CA, was found bleeding in the parking lot of the Days Inn motel near 1900 West North Temple in Salt Lake City. Police say Foisia was walking around with multiple gunshot wounds when they arrived.

“It’s like it happened yesterday,” Trent Foisia, Sai’s cousin, told ABC4.com.

The ‘Boys of Brownzville’

Trent says Sai was always more like a brother. The duo grew up together and even started a hip-hop group together, known as “Brownzville.” The group, based out of Carson, traveled to Utah for a concert.

“That was the first time that Sai went out of town for a show,” Trent said.

According to Salt Lake City Police Department, the Foisias’ band had performed at the Fair Grounds the night before. After the concert, a large group followed the band back to their motel to “hang out.”

Trent says he just wanted to relax after the concert, but friends and family, including Sai, wanted an afterparty. “Afterwards, everybody was trying to find out where we were going.”

Although Trent wanted an easy-going night, he says a number of people followed the group back to their hotel.

“When we got there, there was at least 50 people in the parking lot already,” he said.

Killed in cold blood

According to SLCPD’s case synopsis, one member of the group “did not feel comfortable” with two people who came to the motel. The two were later asked to leave.

“I [didn’t] have a good feeling about these dudes,” Trent recalled. “Honestly, I was just trying to avoid the whole scene.”

Sai then escorted the unwanted guests out of the room but didn’t come back right away. In a Department of Public Safety cold case file, police say Sai left the motel room and had “a confrontation with three individuals.”

“A couple hours later, I just heard a lot of screaming,” Trent told ABC4.com. He immediately rushed out of his room and found blood on the walls and a crowd behind the hotel.

“Sai was lying on the ground, unresponsive,” Trent remembered. One family member attempted CPR but was unsuccessful.

Police records show Sai was immediately rushed to LDS Hospital, where he later passed away. Multiple bullet wounds were found in his back.

“There was 22 of us that went to the show and unfortunately came back with 21,” Trent said.

Forgiveness and celebrating Sai’s life

While police had an initial suspect, no arrests were ever made, and the case remains unsolved.

Trent says he knows the people in the group who Sai was with when he died. While it’s unclear who killed him, Trent says he doesn’t hold anything against those who killed his cousin.

“I don’t have no animosity towards them,” Trent said about his cousin’s killer. “Trying to get even just to satisfy our anger… I just knew that wasn’t the way.”

The grandson of two pastors, Trent says his faith has been instrumental in getting him through the pain. “That was a time where I had to really lean on what I was taught growing up, trusting in the Lord,” he said.

Aunts, uncles, siblings, and cousins gather each year on the anniversary of Sai’s death to celebrate and remember him. They told ABC4.com, he’s remembered as always being “the life of the party” and a well-known “jokester.”

Trent says everything in Carson reminds him of his cousin, and while he has experienced much healing, the pain still hurts.

Sai left behind a wife and three kids. His wife was pregnant with their youngest daughter when he passed. Were he alive today, he’d also be a grandfather.

“We try to be positive, but throughout the night there’s going to be a lot of tears shed,” Trent said. “He was always the life of the party.”