Utah Taco Shop Owner Ordered Woman Kidnapped and Killed, Then Cleaned Up Scene ‘Like Spilled Milk’
WEST VALLEY CITY, UTAH — A Utah taco shop owner and her son have been sentenced for their roles in the kidnapping, execution-style murder, and disposal of a 25-year-old woman who they believed was cooperating with police. Prosecutors say the mother not only ordered the killing but later cleaned the bloody crime scene “as though someone had spilled a glass of milk.”
Victim Targeted for Cooperating With Police, Prosecutors Say
According to the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office, 43-year-old Carolina Marquez orchestrated the Feb. 6, 2021, kidnapping of Conzuelo “Nicole” Solorio-Romero, who had previously provided law enforcement with information that led to the arrest of Marquez’s son.
Marquez enlisted two men — Orlando Tobar and Jorge Medina-Reyes — to abduct the young woman at gunpoint from an apartment in the Salt Lake City area. The men dragged Solorio-Romero into a vehicle and forced her inside.
Marquez told the men to “kill some time,” instructing them to drive toward the Wyoming border and back before bringing the victim to her home in West Valley City for questioning.
Prosecutors said the kidnapping was not random but
“a targeted act of retaliation against a police informant.”
Victim Taken to Home, Questioned, and Executed in Cold Blood
Once at the home, Solorio-Romero was dragged inside at knifepoint. The suspects interrogated her about what she had told police.
When she admitted the truth, the execution began.
Investigators say Medina-Reyes shot her in the head, and Tobar followed with a second gunshot to finish the killing.
Witnesses said Solorio-Romero never stood a chance.
“Nicole wasn’t just a random person you grew to hate;
she was my sister, a mother, and a daughter,”
her sister Jessica Romero-McDonald said.
Suspects Met at Taco Shop to Plan Body Disposal
After the killing, the group gathered at Carolina Marquez’s taco restaurant, where they calmly discussed how to dispose of the young woman’s body.
They contacted a man known as “The Mechanic,” later identified as Cristian Morales, who assisted with the disposal. The suspects wrapped the body in plastic and transported it to a remote field in Tooele County, where they abandoned the remains.
Meanwhile, prosecutors say Marquez stayed behind to clean the blood-soaked crime scene.
In court, photos showed her smiling and scrubbing surfaces “as though someone had spilled a glass of milk.”
Prosecutors strongly rejected her claims of remorse, calling it “not genuine.”
Mother and Son Sentenced; Hitmen Receive Harsh Prison Terms
For her central role, Carolina Marquez was sentenced to:
- 2 to 20 years for second-degree manslaughter
- 6 years to life for first-degree aggravated kidnapping
- Sentences to run consecutively
Her son, 27-year-old Fernando Marquez, received a suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice.
Hitmen Tobar, 34, and Medina-Reyes, 26, previously pleaded guilty to murder and aggravated kidnapping and were sentenced to two terms of 15 years to life each.
Two additional co-defendants pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges for desecrating a body.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill issued a public statement:
“We mourn the loss of Nicole.
We hope this verdict helps the community feel safer now that
Ms. Marquez will spend years behind bars for her heinous crimes.”
Victim’s Family Delivers Heartbreaking Court Statement
During sentencing, Solorio-Romero’s sister delivered a powerful victim impact statement, vowing to attend every future parole hearing.
“You will never take who she was from us.
I will follow your prison journey,
and I will remind the system why you shouldn’t be free,”
she said.
Nicole Solorio-Romero leaves behind loved ones who continue to fight for justice in her name.
As Utah authorities close this disturbing case, community members are left shaken by the brutal betrayal, cold calculation, and chilling cleanup carried out by someone they knew. For more local crime and justice updates, visit ChicagoMusicGuide.com.