Two men have been charged in connection with a Grand Junction teenager whose body was found in a suitcase in western Colorado, officials said.
Raymond Cordova, 48, who previously lived in Grand Junction and 31-year-old Eduardo Nasario De La Cruz were charged in Utah with abuse or desecration of a human body and obstructing justice, according to court documents.
, 18, went missing in December of 2014. Her remains were found March 1, 2015, in Cactus Park west of Grand Junction, about 300 miles from the Salt Lake City area-hotel room where police say she suffered an overdose from a . Authorities called her death suspicious.
Utah officials believe Myer’s body was stuffed into a suitcase and dumped in Mesa County.
The Associated Press reported that police in Utah arrested Cordova and De La Cruz in connection with Myer’s death.
Police say De La Cruz rented the hotel room where Myers died and Cordova later tossed the suitcase with her body inside, according to the AP.
Cordova and De La Cruz were among 11 people targeted by authorities in Mesa County in connection with a drug trafficking investigation that began last August and was completed in March.
Police in Grand Junction said they believe De La Cruz was the head of the drug trafficking organization and a supplier for Mesa County.
Grand Junction police say the drug organization was linked between Mesa County and Salt Lake City.
De La Cruz was in custody in Mesa County when he was arrested in Myer’s death. He had been arrested earlier this year after a brief standoff at a tattoo shop in Grand Junction with authorities.
Elizabeth Hernandez: 303-954-1223, ehernandez@denverpost.com or @ehernandez
