Victim identified; Arrest made in 2022 homicide case
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- Pueblo County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) detectives arrested a 43-year-old man in connection with the 2022 death of a man whose remains were found in a shallow grave in eastern Pueblo County.
According to PCOS, Leon Pantoya from Pueblo was arrested for first-degree murder in the death of 39-year-old Steven Robinson after a three-year investigation.
In September 2022, detectives say they responded to a call of a neighbor finding human remains in a shallow grave near the 3500 block of 36th Lane. After the remains were confirmed to be human, an autopsy found that the victim had blunt force and sharp force trauma, and ruled the death a homicide, says PCOS.
According to law enforcement, the remains were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System database, which brought no matches but several leads. In 2023, a DNA profile was developed, and a forensic artist created a reconstruction image; however, neither led to any significant findings, according to PCOS.
PCOS states that the victim's DNA was then sent to Othram, Inc., a genetic genealogy database. In late 2024, a match was found with a relative, leading to the identification of the victim as Steven Robinson.
Detectives say they discovered that Robinson was living with Pantoya at the time of his death, and allegedly, Pantoya had told mutual friends and the landlord of the two that Robinson had died of pneumonia on Jan. 22, 2022.
Detectives say Pantoya withdrew more than $75,000 from Robinson's bank account, where Robinson's military disability payments continued to be deposited for over a year after his death.
Pantoya was also arrested for identity theft and theft and has been booked into the Pueblo County Jail, confirms law enforcement.
Anyone with information related to this case is asked to contact Detective Simpson at (719) 583-6436.
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