In the early morning hours of July 27, 2019, the life of 27-year-old Kathryn Blaire Leavitt was tragically cut short in her Salt Lake City apartment. A female, she was fatally shot during what was initially reported as a burglary in progress at the Apartments on the Green on Redwood Road. When police officers arrived at the scene, they found Leavitt with a gunshot wound.
Despite being rushed to a nearby hospital for emergency surgery, she succumbed to her injuries.
The investigation into her death unfolded over several years, with Salt Lake City police working to piece together the events of that fatal morning. Leavitt's roommate told investigators that she was awakened by noise and found five men in the apartment with Leavitt. After telling them to be quiet multiple times, some of the men escorted another out of the apartment. A short time later, the roommate heard the front door being forced open, followed by the sound of two gunshots.
In February 2022, authorities publicly identified six suspects they believed were present or had a role in Leavitt's murder. The individuals named were Katoa Pahulu, Sunia Cavazos, Tevita Kofutua, Lahelle Fiefia, Mapilivai Laulea, and Timote Fonua. Police asserted that while all six had some involvement, one of the suspects was directly responsible for pulling the trigger.
The first arrest in the case came in February 2022, when Lachelle Fiefia was taken into custody and charged with obstruction of justice. Investigators alleged that Fiefia had willingly driven two of the men involved in the homicide to Oakland, California, knowing they had been involved in the murder. The following month, a second suspect, Katoa Pahulu, surrendered to police in Maui after a warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of murder and aggravated burglary.
A third suspect, Timote Fonua of San Mateo, California, was arrested in July 2022, exactly three years after Leavitt's death. His arrest followed a standoff with a SWAT team. Fonua was charged with murder and aggravated burglary. According to charging documents, Leavitt's roommate was able to identify some of the men who were in the apartment, including Fonua. When questioned by police in California a month after the murder, Fonua had claimed he had not been in Utah for nearly three years.
