Jason Royter, 33, was found dead in the basement of his Magna, Utah, home on the morning of August 6, 2005. His girlfriend discovered him; the scene included blood in the kitchen and on the stairwell to the basement and a bent, bloody knife. An autopsy determined he died from multiple stab wounds. There were no signs of forced entry, which led investigators to consider that he may have known his attacker.

Salt Lake County detectives worked the case for years before it became a cold file, with the investigation later handled by a cold case unit. A DNA profile from the 2005 scene was eventually entered into CODIS and in 2024 produced a match to Mark Nelson Anthony Munoz, whose DNA had been entered after another crime in a different state. The victim’s girlfriend had mentioned Munoz to police in 2005, and a witness recalled hearing a dispute that night in which a man demanded repayment.

The case remains active; the identified man was known to be unhoused and difficult to locate. If anyone knew Jason, his household, or saw suspicious activity in Magna around August 6, 2005, please share information with investigators.