GRAFTON, Wis. — Court documents revealed more details surrounding a Grafton homicide nearly seven months after a man was discovered fatally shot in the head in a vehicle.
Laeng Sanavongsay, 49, was found dead on March 4, 2023. Last week, a suspect was arrested and charged in connection to the homicide.
Miguel Aponte, 34, is facing first-degree intentional homicide (as a party to a crime, use of a dangerous weapon), false imprisonment, attempting to disfigure a corpse, and felony bail jumping.
A deputy discovered the victim, Sanavongsay, dead in a vehicle on CTH C south of Tallgrass Drive. According to a criminal complaint, there was tape around his mouth and blood coming from his head. An autopsy revealed he died from a gunshot wound but also had several broken ribs and ligature marks on both of his wrists.
The vehicle, a white Chevrolet Malibu, had a Michigan registration and appeared as if someone had "unsuccessfully attempted to ignite a fire inside."
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Man found shot dead in car: Suspect arrested, charged in Grafton homicide 6 months later
- Man who was found dead inside car in Grafton died from gunshot wound
A search warrant of the victim's cell phone and the vehicle revealed several movements on March 3, the day before he was found dead. The complaint says Sanavongsay flew from Texas to Chicago International Airport. At 5:05 p.m., he picked up the rental vehicle from the airport and traveled north toward Milwaukee. He arrived in the area of I-43 and Capitol Drive around 6:30 p.m. It was his phone's last outgoing call at this time.
At 7:30 p.m., his phone traveled to a location in the Third Ward where it remained until 8:50 p.m. It then arrived in New Berlin around 9:10 p.m. At 9:30 p.,m., it returned to the area of I-43 and Capitol. The phone disappeared from the network at 10:07 p.m.
The Ozaukee County Sheriff's Office obtained warrants for cell tower data for areas consistent with the movement of Sanavongsay's cell phone and the vehicle on March 3. AT&T data provided a device associated with and present at a "significant number" of the areas. The device belonged to a woman who lives in New Berlin and has a child with the defendant, Aponte. The complaint says Aponte and the woman lived together at the New Berlin residence where the victim's cell phone and vehicle were prior to his death.
The device's movements were consistent with the movement of Sanavongsay's cell phone. DNA obtained from the victim's rental car also matched Aponte's DNA.
On Sept. 26, Aponte was taken into custody and interviewed by detectives. He originally denied knowing Sanavongsay. However, after being shown a photograph of Sanavongsay, the complaint says Aponte claimed he met Sanavongsay once. He later admitted to being with Sanavongsay and others the night of the homicide but denied being present for the homicide. He also denied ever being in Sanavongsay's vehicle.
The victim does not have any ties to Ozaukee County. The sheriff's office previously said the case appeared to be a targeted incident.
A cash bond for Aponte was set at $750,000. He will appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 13.
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