SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC 4 News) - A man described as a person of interest was taken into police custody just moments before his bus was due to arrive in Wendover.
Salt Lake City Police detectives say 28-year-old Thomas Kumalac is responsible for the death of 26-year-old Jessica Irene Jensen of Layton, who was found dead at the Capitol Motel on 1700 South State Street.
Motel employees discovered Jensen's body early Thursday morning after a guest complained of a foul stench in her room.
"It wasn't a pet smell, it wasn't mold. It was just horrible. I just wanted to get out of there," said motel guest Sophia Sala.
Sala left the room and complained to the manager about the smell. Employees went in to clean the room and found the boddy stuffed inside the wooden bed frame, underneath the mattress.
Police considered the case as suspicious, while an autopsy was scheduled to be performed by the medical examiner to determine an exact cause of death.
In a probable cause statement released Friday, Police say Kumalac used his New Jersey identification to register as the guest of the room where Jensen's body was found. A medical examiner assessed that Jensen died during the time that Kumalac was registered as a guest in the room.
The statement said that Kumalac admitted to "actively causing" the Jensen's death in the hotel room.
The report said that Kumalac was arrested with another woman who was identified as his girlfriend by the Jensen's stepmother.
Kumalac now faces Murder, Obstruction of Justice and Witness Tampering charges.
Stay tuned to ABC 4 News and ABC4.com for more on this story.
