Much has been written about the horrific murder of the teenager Krystal Beslanowitch, who was bludgeoned to death by a river rock in December of 1995.  How and why Krystal ended up 45 miles away from Salt Lake City, Utah, where she lived at the time, is still a mystery, but regardless the last night she spent alive must have been a horrific event that no young girl should ever have to experience.

The Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office did all they could to solve the case, interviewing hundreds of people, but with limited evidence and no solid leads or suspects the case went cold and remained unsolved for 18 years.  Fortunately the investigators had the foresight to keep all of the evidence, including the bloody rock that was used to kill Krystal, until technology could improve to the point where the suspect’s touch DNA could be collected from the rock.  The forensic lab first attempted to use traditional methods with no results, but after using the M-Vac System they were able to produce a full profile of the suspect.  Investigators were then able to locate the suspect, Joseph Simpson, who was then living in Florida, arrest him and bring him back to Utah.  As of the writing of this post Joseph Simpson is in jail waiting for trial.

The responding officer to the crime scene all those years ago was a young Sheriff’s Deputy named Todd Bonner.  He is referred to as Sheriff Bonner today, having worked his way up to the Wasatch County’s highest law enforcement position.  When asked about this case, Sheriff Bonner stated “It’s a case that’s haunted me for almost my whole career,” but continued about the resolution of the investigation with “It’s closure for me, as well. I’m very thrilled of the outcome, but it has taken a lot of time, and it has taken a lot of work.”

After most of the attention had moved on and the case wasn’t causing as much of a stir we were able to discuss with the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office how the suspect’s DNA profile was obtained, Sheriff Bonner gave us this statement:

“There are many officers, analysts and agencies that need to be thanked for their part in solving the Beslanowitch homicide. Without a doubt, the M-Vac system is the major tool that allowed us to make critical DNA connections in this case.”

M-Vac Systems would like to thank Sheriff Bonner and all of the other investigators who worked tirelessly over a span of almost two decades to bring closure to this case.  Law Enforcement Officers like them are a major reason people feel safe in communities.  The fact that our technology could make a difference is frankly why we are in business and brings an incredible amount of satisfaction.  The M-Vac has since been used on a number of other cases, but Krystal’s case will always be one of the first and most significant.

Jared Bradley