2 cousins are found shot to death\n In the late summer of 1982, a tragic story unfolded in Salt Lake City involving a 33-year-old Hispanic male from El Salvador, Emeterio Melgar-Hernandez. A husband and father to eight children, he worked as a dishwasher at the Salt Lake Hilton. The last time his coworkers saw him was on August 14, 1982. Five days later, on August 19, 1982, his body was discovered approximately five miles above the junction of I-80 and U-65.
An autopsy revealed that he had died from gunshot wounds and his body had been there for some time.
The investigation into his death soon became intertwined with another grim discovery. Just two days prior to finding Emeterio, the body of his 18-year-old cousin, Miguel Antonio Hernandez, was located by hikers off a road in the nearby East Canyon. Miguel had also been killed by gunshot wounds. He had recently moved to the Salt Lake City area from Santa Ana, California, to live with Emeterio. The last known sighting of the two cousins was on the evening of August 13, 1982, when they attended a dance together.
Due to the close proximity of where the bodies were found and the similar timeframe and manner of their deaths, authorities began investigating the cases as a double homicide. It is believed that both men were killed around the same time. Despite the connection between the two murders, the case grew cold over the years.
To date, the homicides of Emeterio Melgar-Hernandez and Miguel Antonio Hernandez remain unsolved. There have been no public announcements regarding any arrests or specific suspects in connection with their deaths. The Unified Police Department continues to classify their case as an unsolved cold case, leaving a lingering mystery and a search for justice that has spanned decades.
