Carson City investigators to meet with suspect in missing mom case

Carson City investigators are in Salt Lake City this week to speak to the man suspected in the kidnapping and death of a Carson City mother.

Sheriff Ken Furlong said Sgt. Bob White and a Spanish-speaking state investigator are hoping to speak with Israel "Juan Carlos" Tellez at the Utah State Prison.

Tellez, 40, is the prime suspect in the death of Bertha Anguiano, 33.

Her bones were found in the desert near Fallon on Sept. 16, nearly a year after the married mother of three was last seen dropping off her 6-year-old son at Empire Elementary School.

Some 90 minutes later, her youngest son, 3-year-old Andrew, was found in the parking lot of a Dayton grocery store 12 miles from home. He had suffered a blow to his head and an abrasion above his eye.

He said he'd been pushed from a blue truck by a man he knew as Juan. Andrew also told police his mother was dead.

Tellez, 40, became a key figure in the case after investigators learned the married mother of three was allegedly having an affair with him.

Andrew allegedly identified Tellez as Juan in a picture shown to him by police.

Tellez, an undocumented immigrant, was located in Salt Lake City on Nov. 21 where he pulled a gun on officers who approached him for questioning in the Anguiano disappearance. Despite his denying recent contact with Anguiano, a forensic examination of his blue GMC Jimmy found large amounts of blood residue that matched the blood on Andrew's clothing, according to court documents.

Tellez is currently serving a prison sentence in Utah on charges of assault with a deadly weapon.

The Carson City District Attorney's Office is declining comment on any pending charges facing Tellez.

Furlong said this will be the first conversation investigators have had with Tellez since the discovery of Anguiano's remains.

Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.