Background: Authorities look for evidence at an auto shop in Grafton, Wisconsin, after a body was found inside of a vehicle in Ozaukee County (WITI/YouTube). Inset: Miguel Aponte (Ozaukee County Sheriff”s Office).
A Wisconsin man has been convicted for the murder of another man whose body was discovered in a rental car with a bullet wound and tape over his mouth.
Miguel Aponte, aged 34, was found guilty by a jury of first-degree intentional homicide and felony bail jumping in the case of 49-year-old Laeng Sanavongsay, according to court records from Ozaukee County. The jury, however, acquitted Aponte of attempting to mutilate a corpse.
The incident unfolded on March 4 when authorities came across an apparently abandoned vehicle along a roadside in Grafton, a village just north of Milwaukee. Upon inspection of the Chevy Malibu, they found a lifeless body in the back seat, as detailed in a criminal complaint accessed by the Ozaukee County News Graphic.
Officials identified the deceased as Sanavongsay, who had tape around his mouth, restraints on his wrists, and a gunshot wound to the head. Additionally, the vehicle showed signs of burn damage, with smoke residue on the windows and damage to the interior.
Investigations revealed that Sanavongsay had rented the car from Chicago O’Hare International Airport the previous day. His phone’s last call connected to a number linked to a Milwaukee auto repair shop owner. Authorities searched the shop and analyzed cell tower data, leading them to a woman associated with Aponte.
In September, DNA evidence in the Chevy Malibu was matched to Aponte through CODIS, the FBI’s national database, according to the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office. Aponte’s DNA was also reportedly found on Sanavongsay’s right hand and on a mattress at the Milwaukee auto shop.
Aponte reportedly initially denied knowing Sanavongsay, before saying he had met him once and then admitting he was with the victim and other people on the night of his death, though he denied having played a part in the killing.
Ozaukee County Sheriff Christy Knowles suggested the location had little to do with the crime.
“They drove up, found a place to kill somebody, and it just happened to be in Ozaukee County,” she said, per local Fox affiliate WITI.
Ozaukee County District Attorney Ben Lindsay made clear during the trial his belief that Aponte did not act alone, the local newspaper reported, but no one else has been apprehended in the case.
Aponte is set to be sentenced on March 9. He faces life in prison.
