The Salt Lake Tribune Date: 07/02/2001 Domestic Disputes Drive Murders BY FRANK CURRERI THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Driven primarily by domestic disputes that escalated into bloodshed, Utah is on pace to surpass the decade-low murder rate of last year. There were 26 homicides in the Beehive State as of Saturday, the halfway point of 2001. That marks two more killings than were committed through the first six months of last year. Altogether, 42 people were murdered in 2000. The most common murder scenario in 2001 involves men killing their wives, ex-wives or ex-lovers. So far this year, at least nine people have allegedly lost their lives at the hands of husbands or boyfriends, compared to six domestic-related fatalities throughout all of the previous year. In two such cases, the alleged killer took his own life. Other homicide suspects have proven more elusive to investigators. Jess Alan Dummar was stabbed 17 times in his face, neck and head as he exited a crowded Utah Transit Authority bus June 5. The murder occurred on State Street during rush-hour traffic, but information from eyewitnesses has been scarce, and South Salt Lake police still have no suspects in the case. "For us, it's just bizarre that we don't have people seeing that," said South Salt Lake police Officer Darin Sweeten. "I remember when we had a deer running around the city, and people were calling in to help locate this deer and giving all this information. And here you have a guy get mutilated on State Street, in rush-hour traffic, and nobody knows anything." Investigators believe Dummar knew his killer. The victims of other unresolved murders include: Evaristo Cardenas, 24, who was shot on an early Sunday morning in March when he answered the door at his residence in South Salt Lake. Police say they have found the murder weapon but not the suspected killer, a teen-ager who fought with Cardenas earlier in the week. Mina Pajela, 54, who was discovered dead in the trunk of a car in Pleasant Grove in April. She had been shot in the head, police reported, and the car had been set on fire. Ricardo Tapia Martinez and Isaul Parra, two young men killed in separate incidents at the same Salt Lake City apartment complex in May. In Parra's case, Salt Lake County prosecutors have charged his roommate, Daniel Montes, 22, with first-degree murder for allegedly stabbing him, but Montes remains at large. Over the past 2 1/2 years, there have been 115 reported murders in Utah. In at least 24 of those homicides, suspects have not been arrested -- although in several cases, police identified a suspect and prosecutors filed charges. Ten of those cases occurred in Salt Lake City. While the national arrest rate for murders hovers around 70 percent, Salt Lake County has made arrests in 96 of its 102 murders over the past decade, said Sgt. Jerry Townsend, leader of the homicide division for the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office. Although it has not appeared in this year's murder tally, Salt Lake County police are declaring that Jan Stavros, a 42-year-old Millcreek woman, may have been the victim of foul play. Her live-in boyfriend said he last saw her as he left for work one day in January. The Salt Lake Tribune Date: 01/07/2001 For the Record WOMAN MISSING Salt Lake County Sheriff's deputies are asking for help in locating a Millcreek woman who was last seen at her home Thursday morning. Jan Stavros, 42, was last seen by her live-in boyfriend when he left for work that day. Stavros was last heard from by a former co-worker that day around noon, said Mike Stavros, the missing woman's ex-husband. Police do not suspect foul play but are suspicious of the circumstances behind her disappearance. Stavros, recently unemployed, left behind her new truck and its keys, a puppy she had recently taken ownership of and her cell phone, which she usually takes with her, family members say. Stavros is 5 feet 2 inches tall, has wavy brown shoulder-length hair, gray eyes and usually wears glasses. Family members say she prefers to dress casually in Western style, often wearing denim. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call 743-7000. The Salt Lake Tribune Date: 01/17/2001 Woman, 42, Still Missing After 2 Weeks BY FRANK CURRERI THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Police investigators were still searching Tuesday for a 42-year-old Millcreek woman who vanished nearly two weeks ago. Authorities have not ruled out, however, that Jan Stavros simply may have decided to leave town without telling anyone. Stavros was last heard from Jan. 3 about noon when she spoke by telephone with a former co-worker, said Salt Lake County police Sgt. Jerry Townsend. Stavros shared her Millcreek home with her boyfriend, a 31-year-old welder, who told police he left for work early on the morning of Jan. 3 and returned home that evening to an empty house, Townsend said. Stavros' daughter, Meghan Laudie -- a University of Utah student who did not live with her mother -- called authorities the next day to report her mother missing. A skilled saleswoman who was laid off from her job last month, Stavros had recently considered employment opportunities in Colorado, according to Mike Stavros, her ex-husband. Though unemployed, Jan Stavros was comfortable financially, Townsend said, and probes of her bank account and credit cards revealed no withdrawals or charges since her disappearance. Her home has so far yielded no clues to explain her absence. Furthering the mystery, the mother of two left behind a new truck and its keys, a puppy she had recently taken ownership of and the cellular phone she usually carries, family members said. Police have questioned Stavros' boyfriend, who has fully cooperated with investigators, Townsend said. He was held at the Salt Lake County Jail on Tuesday for possessing a gun without a permit. Townsend said investigators discovered the alleged felony violation when they exercised a search warrant on Stavros' home. The day before she disappeared, Stavros and her boyfriend went to her ex-husband's house for dinner. Mike Stavros said he did not detect any tension between Stavros and her boyfriend that night, and knew of no serious conflicts between the couple during their six-month relationship. Jan Stavros is described as 5 feet 2 inches tall with wavy brown, shoulder-length hair. She has gray eyes and usually wears glasses. Family members say she prefers to dress casually in Western style, often wearing denim. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call 743-7000 or 743-5826.