Man Who Stabbed Friend Over 30 Times & Dismembered Body as Teen Pleads Guilty: DA

Rowdy Lee Aguilar -- who is now 21 years old -- pleaded guilty to aggravated murder with a mental health condition over the death of 15-year-old Ivan Vetecnik (pictured), the Salt Lake County District Attorney said in a press release.

Prosecutors said that surveillance video showed two friends entering Aguilar's house when at around 10 a.m. on May 26, 2021, when Aguilar was 17 years old. Later that day, he was seen re-entering the home alone, "his shirt heavily stained with apparent blood," noted the DA.

That same day, a witness, later identified as Aguilera's father, found the victim's body -- which "had been stabbed more than thirty times and partially dismembered" in a cargo trailer nearby. Video surveillance, meanwhile, allegedly showed Aguilar carrying items to the location, in garbage bags consistent with the ones in which the remains were discovered.

The witness called police, who allegedly noted the trailer "smelled strongly of cleaning agents."

A leather glove, which was covered in blood was also found inside the trailer along with a knife. DNA found on the items were consistent with Vetecnik's remains. Investigators then recovered other body parts behind the home.

Though he initially told authorities wounds on his hands were cuts he sustained at a barbecue, Aguilar allegedly eventually admitted to killing his friend. No motive has been revealed.

"This tragic loss of life shocked not only our community, but people around the world. We hope that this conviction helps the victim's family feel they have received a measure of justice and accountability for the death of their loved one. We hope they may now begin to heal from the trauma of their loss," said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill.

A judge is set to sentence Aguilar on December 5, where the victim's older sister Samantha VanTreese is set to speak directly to Aguilar.

VanTreese took to Facebook to share her thoughts on Aguilar's guilty plea of the murder of her younger brother.

"At the end of the day no amount of time in prison will ever be enough," she wrote. "He took my baby brother in the worst way possible!"

She strongly disagreed with the court's acknowledgment of Aguilar's mental condition, adding: "He knew what he was doing, he deserves to rot."

She described the attack as "personal."

"He did this with a kitchen knife," VanTreese said. "My brother was a big boy."

"You tried to clean up the mess, you ran, you lied," she added. "You tried to say you were cutting up ribs for a barbecue."

One of the main concerns VanTreese has now is the possibility for parole in 25 years -- as she believes he has shown no remorse throughout the court proceedings.

"He's a threat to the people around him where he's at right now," she said.

"Every court hearing we see him at, he just has a smug look on his face," she said. "Like he actually doesn't care what he did."

As VanTreese and her family continues to grieve the loss of Vetecnik, she noted that despite not seeing him anymore or celebrating "milestones of his own," she "can always find the beautiful" in life.