MIDVALE — On the afternoon of January 13, 2009, law enforcement officers responded to the Candlestick Apartments in Midvale City, Utah. Maintenance workers noticed newspapers piling up outside of Apartment 208. After not getting a response when knocking, the police were called.
Officers entered the apartment. They found Lester Janise, a 62-year-old Native American male, dead inside of his apartment. And valuable items were missing. An autopsy determined the cause of death was ligature strangulation. The time of death was estimated to be around the end of December 2008.
Lester had visited friends in South Dakota earlier that December prior to returning to Midvale before the Christmas holidays. His 2002 white Ford Windstar was missing from his residence at the time Lester was located. The vehicle was later recovered in another state.
Lester was not only a spiritual leader among the Native Americans, but also a Vietnam Vet who was awarded a Purple Heart for his service to the country. He lived alone but had had company from out-of-state staying with him shortly before his death.
A Unified Police cold case detective recently received a reliable break in this case and is actively investigating new leads. We encourage anyone with ANY information to call Unified Police’s Cold Case department at 385-468-9816. We believe someone out there has additional information regarding this case and knows what happened to Lester Janise. Help Unified Police find Lester Janise’s Killer.
