Video captures teen couple discussing ‘murdering somebody’
Video made public Wednesday shows a 16-year-old girl and her 18-year-old boyfriend giggling while discussing what authorities have said is the slaying of her father.
Sierra Halseth and Aaron Guerrero are jailed in the stabbing death of 45-year-old Daniel Halseth. Police said the man’s body was stuffed in a sleeping bag and set on fire.
The teens were indicted late last month on charges of murder, conspiracy, arson, robbery and fraudulent use of a credit card.
Halseth’s body, “burned from head to toe,” was found April 9 in the garage of his northwest Las Vegas home, near Durango and Alta drives, according to court papers.
He had been stabbed multiple times.
Throughout the home, investigators found Home Depot and ATM receipts. Surveillance video from Home Depot showed Guerrero buying saws and gloves that later were found inside the Halseth home, prosecutors said, while ATM surveillance video showed Sierra Halseth using her father’s debit cards.
Sierra Halseth and Guerrero dated from June to December but were kept from seeing each other after their parents learned they had planned to run away to Los Angeles, according to court documents.
The day before Daniel Halseth’s body was found, Guerrero ran away from home and the teenagers purchased a circular saw, saw blades, bleach, lighter fluid, disposable gloves and dropcloth from stores near the victim’s home, according to the transcripts.
The girl and Guerrero were apprehended by the Salt Lake City Transit Authority after buying a train ticket.
Investigators confiscated the girl’s phone, on which the couple had recorded a video.
“Welcome back to our YouTube channel, three days after murdering somebody,” Guerrero said on the video.
“Whoa!” Sierra Halseth said. “Don’t put that on camera.”
The couple discussed sex and appeared to be lying down, as Guerrero said “it was worth it,” while he tapped her cheek with an open palm and then wrapped his hand around her throat.
The Halseth family responded to news reports of the video in an email to the Review-Journal.
“Daniel Halseth was first and foremost a loving father, brother, and son, who was the heart of the Halseth family,” his aunt, Diane Wendt, wrote. “To have him taken from us in such a horrific, savage, senseless, and violent act of murder leaves us heartbroken, and our grief is unyielding. The total lack of remorse on display in the video is both reprehensible and unforgivable. While we are grateful for the work of the detective and the district attorney, we are waiting for justice to be served with the maximum accountability allowed. We loved Dan very much and we miss him every moment of the day. This is the only statement we will be making and ask for privacy and understanding.”
Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.
