MITCHELL, S.D. - The 15-year-old female suspect in a Mitchell murder case was reported missing recently by her mother in Indiana, according to a police report.
The 15-year-old, identified by investigators only as M.D., was arrested last week with Alexander Salgado, 20, for the Nov. 10 murder of Jasmine Guevara, 16, of Mitchell. The two, who came to Mitchell recently from Indiana, are accused of stabbing Guevara and cutting her throat, and then placing her body into a car in rural Mitchell and starting the car on fire. Court documents say they were motivated by M.D.'s jealousy over a developing relationship between Salgado and Guevara.
In a Fort Wayne, Ind., police report filed Nov. 12, Detective Kenneth Clement wrote that M.D.'s mother said the girl was kidnapped.
"She had been taken from the area against her will by her boyfriend Alexander Salgado and he was beating her and holding her captive," the report said, referring to M.D.
Clement's sergeant had requested his help Nov. 12 in locating the Guevara murder suspects' parents. Clement learned of the missing-person report while searching M.D.'s criminal history.
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Clement sent Toby Russell, a Mitchell police detective, information from the missing-person report and photos of M.D., Salgado, and the girl's brother, Erik A. Diaz-Gutierrez, 19.
Sara Rabern, spokeswoman for the South Dakota attorney general, said Wednesday she did not know if the kidnapping claim in the missing-person report is valid and would not speculate on how it might affect the prosecution of either suspect. She said Tuesday the charge against Salgado stands at first-degree murder, but charges could be added.
"The prosecutors are working on fishing through all the details before making a final determination," she said.
More information about Salgado also has emerged in recent days.
The Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne reported that Salgado had two traffic offenses in Allen County, Ind. -- never having received a driver's license in 2005, and driving with a suspended license in 2006. He also has a juvenile record in Fort Wayne, but police could not release specifics, said Liza Thomas, police information officer.
KSFY-TV in Sioux Falls reported that, according to Mitchell police, Salgado has a violent criminal history and was a known gang member in Indiana. Authorities in Indiana declined Wednesday to comment on that information.
Salgado and M.D. moved recently to the basement of a house at 613 W. First Ave. in Mitchell, which is near the Guevara home. The landlord, who spoke on condition of anonymity, rents the house at 613 W. First to a woman who gave permission to Salgado and M.D. to move in. The landlord said he was unaware that Salgado and M.D. had taken up residence in the home.
John Levell, of Lanesboro, Minn., whose mother-in-law lives across the street from 613 W. First, said he has seen a lot of young people come and go from the house where Salgado and M.D. were living, but he didn't recognize Salgado when he saw his picture in the news recently.
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"I think it's a random thing --they all knew each other. ... It could happen next door to anybody," Levell said.
Guevara's remains were transported after the crime to the State Crime Lab in Pierre. Rabern said Tuesday she does not know when preliminary autopsy results will be available on Guevara, or when her remains will be positively identified. Authorities have said that, even though there has been no positive identification, they believe the body in the car was Guevara's. If there are any funeral arrangements pending for Guevara, they have not been announced publicly.
Lyndon Overweg, Mitchell public safety chief, said Wednesday that the department had received a 12-inch by 12-inch thank-you card signed by 150 to 200 Mitchell students. The students expressed gratitude for the police's quick work in arresting the murder suspects.
"We have gotten thank-you cards before, but I don't know if we ever have received it by this many," Overweg said. "This was really appreciated."
Salgado was formally charged Friday with first-degree murder and is being held without bond in Davison County jail. Authorities have declined to say where M.D. is being held, and because of her protected status as a juvenile, little is known about the case against her.
