Taylorsville man pleads guilty after stabbing 15-year-old two dozen times, dismembering body in 2021

TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (ABC4) — A Taylorsville man has pled guilty with a mental condition to aggravated murder after killing a 15-year-old in 2021.

Today, Rowdy Lee Aguilar, 21, pled guilty in the Third District Court to killing Ivan Vetecnik, 15, in 2021.

Initially, in 2021, Aguilar was charged with criminal homicide, aggravated murder (a first-degree felony), obstructing justice (a second-degree felony), abuse or desecration of a human body (a third-degree felony), and escape (a third-degree felony).

In May of 2022, he pled not guilty to each charge. Today, as part of a plea deal, all charges besides the aggravated murder charge were dismissed without prejudice and Aguilar pled guilty to aggravated murder with a mental condition.

While an exact motive for the crime has not been determined, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said Aguilar may have been dealing with mental illness or drug psychosis when he committed the murder.

The plea deal is meant to acknowledge the exacerbating circumstances surrounding the crime but will not mitigate Aguilar’s sentence.

“We let the defendant plead guilty, but mentally ill as part of this disposition. It accurately kind of captures the time when this happened, but it is not going to detract away from the sentence that’s going to be available,” Gill said.

Since Aguilar was 17 years old when he murdered Vetecnik, he was charged as a minor. Under federal laws, a minor cannot face the death penalty or life in prison. Thus, Aguilar can only face a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

Aguilar will reportedly be held at a youth secure care facility until he is 25 years old, when he will be transferred to the Utah State Correctional Facility to serve out the rest of his sentence.

Case History

According to court documents, on May 26, 2021, officers responded to a call to a residence near 1600 W Elise Drive in Salt Lake County. Rowdy Aguilar’s father, Jeremy Aguilar, had been looking for Rowdy and found a dead body inside his utility trailer.

Inside the trailer, officers found Vetecnik’s dismembered body. Additionally, there were cleaning supplies inside the trailer, and it smelled strongly of cleaning agents.

Officers also searched Aguilar’s bedroom and a field behind the residence. They found a bloody T-shirt and dismembered body parts in garbage bags. They determined the body parts belonged to Vetecnik. They also found a knife consistent with the victim’s injuries.

The Medical Examiner determined the victim had been stabbed 26 times in the head, and at one point, the knife had penetrated the skull. Ultimately, the knife struck the interior carotid.

Video footage from Aguilar and Vetecnik’s individual residences showed that both boys had been together on the day of the homicide. At around 10:09 a.m., they are seen entering Aguilar’s home. Later, at 1:20 p.m., the footage shows Aguilar wearing the bloody t-shirt that was found inside his bedroom.

At 1:30 p.m., other surveillance video shows Aguilar carrying black garbage bags and walking to the field behind his house, before returning without the bag. At 1:42 p.m., he carries a white garbage bag to the field and then returns without it.

Court documents state that the white and black garbage bags appear to be the same bags that officers located in the field with body parts in them.

Rowdy Aguilar was taken into custody by officers. While waiting in an interview room, Aguilar broke the handcuffs away from the wall and attempted to leave the room.

Aguilar also initially denied knowing Ivan Vetecnik and claimed he had been at his girlfriend’s house all day. During the interview, officers observed what appeared to be blood on his pants, socks, and shoes, as well as injuries on his hands.

While Aguilar initially said that his injuries were from cutting ribs for a barbeque, he eventually admitted to being in the trailer with Ivan Vetecnik. He also told law enforcement, “I did it,” and was booked into the Salt Lake Valley Detention Center.

Future Proceedings

Aguilar’s conviction today marks a step closer to resolving this case.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said, “This tragic loss of life shocked not only our community, but people around the world. We hope that this conviction helps the victim’s family feel they have received a measure of justice and accountability for the death of their loved one. We hope they may now begin to heal from the trauma of their loss.”

DA Gill added that prosecutors have worked with Vetecnik’s family throughout this case and as they reached a plea deal with Aguilar. He also acknowledged that the complexity of this case required more time and acknowledged their patience and trust in the system.

He also acknowledged the work of various law enforcement agencies throughout this investigation.

Gill added, “We appreciate the work of our prosecutor Brad Cooley as well as our support staff on this case. We thank the detectives from the Unified Police Department for their diligent investigation, which helped lead to this conviction.”

Rowdy Aguilar’s special sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 5, 2025.