On the morning of October 4, 2021, Farrell Bartschi, an 82-year-old White male, was taking his customary morning walk in a West Valley City neighborhood. At approximately 7:10 a.m., near 3800 South and 4200 West, multiple gunshots were heard by neighbors. Emergency crews arrived to find Mr. Bartschi unresponsive on the ground in front of a residence. Despite the life-saving efforts of witnesses, police officers, and paramedics, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
It was determined that he had been shot.
The investigation quickly focused on Noel Munoz Lopez, a 34-year-old man from Kearns, who was identified as a person of interest. Police believed Lopez was in the area at the time of the shooting and had an association with the residents of the home where Bartschi was found. However, it was established that Bartschi, who lived nearby, had no known connection to either Lopez or the people living in the house. The motive for the shooting remained unclear, with prosecutors later describing Bartschi as a "total stranger" to his alleged killer. Lopez fled the area immediately after the incident.
Following a nine-month manhunt, during which a reward was offered for information leading to his capture, Noel Munoz Lopez was arrested in Mexico in June 2022. He was subsequently charged with murder, possession of a weapon by a restricted person, and two counts of discharge of a firearm. At the time of the shooting, Lopez was on parole, having been released from prison in March 2021. His prior convictions included attempted murder and aggravated assault from a 2007 case.
