A man, aged 43, has been detained in Colorado, accused of murdering his roommate, hiding the body in a shallow grave, deceiving the victim’s friends into believing he passed away from pneumonia, and secretly withdrawing money from the deceased’s bank account.

Leon Pantoya was arrested on Friday, charged with first-degree murder in connection with the 2022 death of 39-year-old Steven Robinson, authorities stated. Additional charges include identity theft and theft of between $20,000 and $100,000, both categorised as felonies.

As reported in a news release from the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office, Pantoya’s apprehension followed a three-year probe led by PCSO Detective Vanessa Simpson.

Deputies received a call on September 25, 2022, responding to the 3500 block of 36th Lane, where a property owner reported “discovering what appeared to be human remains in a shallow grave.”

“Forensic analysis confirmed the remains were human,” officials noted in the release. “An autopsy revealed that the victim endured blunt force and sharp force trauma, confirming the death as a homicide.”

Authorities in late 2022 entered the unidentified man’s information into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System database. While the victim’s information did not match anyone in the database, investigators said they generated several leads. Just over a year later, in March 2023, a DNA profile was developed, but again, no matches were found.

A forensic artist created a reconstruction image of the victim that law enforcement shared publicly, but it resulted in few additional leads regarding his identity.

The victim’s DNA profile was subsequently submitted to a genetic genealogy database which matched the victim’s DNA with a relative. That match led to the positive identification of the victim as Robinson, who was originally from South Carolina, but had moved to Pueblo sometime in 2017.

After identifying Robinson as the victim, investigators soon learned that he had been living with Pantoya when he died in early January 2022.

“Pantoya told Robinson’s friends and landlord that Robinson had died of pneumonia on January 22, 2022,” sheriff’s officials wrote in the release. “Investigators later determined Robinson’s remains were buried on property owned by one of Pantoya’s relatives. The investigation also revealed Pantoya had withdrawn more than $75,000 from Robinson’s bank account, where Robinson’s military disability payments continued to be deposited for more than a year after his death.”

Sheriff David J. Lucero praised the detective who led the multi-year investigation into Robinson’s suspected murder.

“Detective Simpson has been dedicated and committed to solving this case for years, and, ironically, an arrest was made three years and a day since this investigation began,” Lucero said. “She worked tirelessly not only to identify the victim but also to investigate the homicide and identify a suspect. Bringing closure to this case is a testament to modern science and solid investigative police work.”

Pantoya is currently being held without bond and is scheduled to make his first appearance in Pueblo County Combined Court on Oct. 1, records show.