Who Was David Stokoe? 3 Arrested In Utah Real Estate Broker Murder

Salt Lake City Police have arrested three people, a man and two women, in connection with the murder of their landlord. The deceased was identified as 40-year-old David Stokoe, a real estate broker in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Police had initiated an investigation Friday, following a missing complaint from Stokoe’s family. He had left home Thursday to meet and evict the tenants, but never returned.

A native of Utah, Stokoe was the principal broker at RANLife Real Estate. According to his Facebook page, he graduated in 1996 from Brighton High School and majored in business management from Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Business in 2005.

His LinkedIn page read he was a "full time licensed Realtor since July of 2005", who specialized in "residential real estate sales, helping families and individuals realize the 'American Dream' of home ownership."

He was also responsible for "agent training, coaching, recruiting and business development," it added.

In 2008, David and his wife Nikki started managing their own real estate portfolio, which included multi family, vacation rental and single family properties. According to his family, David was adventurous and loved racing dirt bikes.

According to an ABC News report, Salt Lake City Police Sgt. Greg Wilking said police approached the apartment which Stokoe had visited after they learned he had never left the building Thursday.

The cop said officers discovered a hidden door during the course of their investigation and located Stokoe’s corpse from behind the door. Wilking revealed the deceased was shot.

Further investigation led the police to West Valley City suburb, where they found Stokoe’s missing car, a Cadillac Escalade. Two people, who were found in the car, were detained but were allowed to go later as the investigating officers deemed they had no role in the murder.

The suspects were arrested Saturday from a South Salt Lake apartment. They have been identified as 31-year-old Manuel Velasquez, 38-year-old Jessica Miller and 30-year-old Diana Hernandez. While Velasquez was charged with murder, both Miller and Hernandez faced obstruction charges.

According to police, Stokoe was shot by Velasquez following a fight.

Meanwhile, the real estate broker’s death has left his family broken hearted.

"This situation is tragic, beyond words, but we are remembering Dave the way he deserves to be remembered, as a hero and champion," a family statement read.

A GoFundMe page has also been set for the deceased’s family. He is survived by his wife and four children.