Man charged with murder for 2016 homicide near Great Saltair

MAGNA, Utah (ABC4) — A man has been arrested and charged for a murder that took place over eight years ago near the Great Saltair.

Casteil Franklin Hamlett, 38, has been charged with murder, a first-degree felony; felony discharge of a firearm with serious bodily injury, a first-degree felony; and obstructing justice, a second-degree felony.

A little over a year ago, a Salt Lake City man was arrested for obstruction in connection with the same case. Jesse Mascaro, 35, was charged with obstructing justice, but the case was dismissed without prejudice in January.

On Feb. 11, 2016, hikers contacted the Unified Police Department regarding a deceased person found near the Great Saltair in Magna. When an officer arrived, she discovered a deceased male in his 20s with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to his chest. Documents say that Jolly Ranchers and Now and Later candy wrappers were found nearby.

A wallet was located, and police were able to identify the shooting victim as Chandler Cooper, 22. An autopsy confirmed that he had been shot in the cheek and in the chest, and those gunshots were the cause of his death.

The victim’s grandmother told police at the time of his death that she had last seen him on Feb. 10, 2016. She provided Cooper’s phone number to detectives and said that he always had his phone with him.

Detectives were able to obtain the victim’s cell phone. Logs showed that he had received several phone calls and messages from a phone number that was later found to belong to Casteil Hamlett. Documents say that the victim’s friend group included Hamlett, Mascaro, and another person. Multiple witnesses testified about a party at Mascaro’s house shortly before the murder.

During a 2016 interview with Hamlett, he told detectives that he knew Cooper and worked with him. According to court documents, Hamlett said that he went to a party at Mascaro’s house on Feb. 9, and he picked up the victim afterwards. He told police in 2016 that they “drove around, smoking and looking for girls” before he dropped the victim back at his residence.

In an interview with Mascaro, Hamlett told police that he heard the victim “and his crew” were going to rob him after he won money through sports betting in Wendover. Hamlett had reportedly told Mascaro to lock his doors. Mascaro allegedly stated that he “wasn’t too concerned” about being robbed.

In that 2016 interview, Hamlett told police that the victim and someone else had approached him and asked if he “wanted in on the robbery.”

During a search of Hamlett’s vehicle in 2016, detectives found that he had muddy boots, a bag of Jolly Ranchers, and Now and Later candy in his vehicle. This evidence was photographed.

On February 10, 2016, around 12:55 a.m., cell phone records showed that Hamlett received a text in the area of cell towers near Cooper’s home. Then, between 12:55 a.m. and 3:53 a.m., both Hamlett and Cooper’s phones were silent.

At 3:53 a.m., a cell phone tower picked up Hamlett’s phone near the area of State Street and 1300 South. At 3:55 a.m., Cooper’s phone was picked up by two cell towers in the same area of Hamlett’s. Shortly after, phone records show that Hamlett’s phone attempted to call Cooper’s twice, with his cell utilizing different cell towers than the ones that Cooper’s is using.

Court documents note that after the attempted phone calls, the victim’s “cell phone never connects to another tower again.” Hamlett’s phone utilized cell phone towers traveling to Ogden, where he likely arrived at approximately 8 a.m.

Then, between 8:08 a.m. and 8:59 a.m., Hamlett’s phone does not connect to any cell towers, once again going silent.

A witness reported to police that on Feb. 10, 2016, sometime after 7 a.m., Hamlett had removed the battery from her cell phone and his own and spoke to her in a side room. He then allegedly drove them both to Wendover after being interviewed by police and searched for “the gun” but was unable to locate it.

Cooper’s clothing was taken to the crime lab for testing, documents say. Swabs from the jacket and jeans he was wearing at the time of his death were taken for DNA testing. Police say that a swab from his left jacket pocket was a positive match for Hamlett’s DNA.

Another witness remembered that before his murder in 2016, Cooper was shot in 2015. She recalled a conversation when the victim told her that he was “trying to get out of the drug game” but “Hamlett would not allow him to leave.” The victim told the witness he was giving Hamlett money to prevent him from killing him and any family members.

The witness also reported to detectives that Cooper, the victim, had sticky notes on his bedroom wall “talking about how he may die and when he does die who he wants his belongings to be left with.” She also stated that the candy found at the scene of the crime and in Hamlett’s vehicle was “definitely the candy” that Cooper often liked to eat.

According to court documents, detectives learned that during Mascaro’s party, there were many conversations regarding the victim “being a problem.” Detectives say that through interviews and other investigations, they found that the group had talked about assaulting, kidnapping, breaking the leg of, abandoning halfway to Wendover, and killing the victim.

Hamlett was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail, where he is currently being held. A no-bail warrant has been requested to hold him there, and an initial appearance is set for Sept. 18, 2025.