New clue may lead to Rosie Tapia's killer

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - A former Utah State Prison guard says she has information about who killed Rosie Tapia.

Back in 1995, the little Salt Lake girl was snatched from her bedroom. Her body was later found in the Jordan River. After all these years the killing is still an unsolved mystery.

The former prison guard received a letter in the mail from an inmate claiming that someone in prison committed the crime, and that there possibly were two people involved.

The letter read the following, "The dude told me he was there. She wasn't the right girl he took the wrong girl. The other guy says, ‘We'll take her back.’ The dude says, ‘No we got to get rid of her.’ So they do some f- up s- to this little girl. Throw her in the water and wash away the evidence. There's a lot more to the story”

When asked why the inmate shared this information she said, “It’s eating away at him so he asked me if I knew about it and if I could look up some information and send it to him. I think he is afraid to get involved also. Being in prison you can’t be a rat, you can’t be a snitch."

The former prison guard wrote back telling the inmate to contact police, but he didn't. She claims to have called and left a message at a police station in Salt Lake City a month ago, and they never responded. She called the police station again and she said they still haven't returned any of her calls about this tip.

She said, "I know law enforcement is busy but it’s a murder case.”

A spokesman for Salt Lake City Police says the homicide detectives never received any call about this. But they now plan to talk with this former guard to learn more about what she knows.

Rosie Tapia's mother had no idea this information was out there until Tuesday afternoon when ABC4 News met with her.

Moments after reading contents of the letter, Rosie Tapia's mother was near tears.

Tapia’s mother said, "Anything sounds real at this point. I hope it’s not a trick cause I don't know if I can handle that.”

For Tapia’s mother, the letter brings new hope after years of sorrow, she said, “It’s going to be 14 years and I still don't know nothing, or nobody has come forward with information maybe now this will be a break. Maybe something I could put her to rest if it’s true.”