A Cortez man charged with murder in the brutal death of a 40-year-old man in Veterans Park last summer may face a second murder charge.
During a court appearance Thursday for 33-year-old Robert Salt, Jr., Assistant District Attorney Justin Pierce said a second victim in the case died recently.
Salt and 21-year-old Nykhona Holiday were arrested the night of Aug. 20, 2025, after police found Curtis Benally dead and two other men seriously injured in the park. All had been beaten and kicked.
Bilbert Tsosie, then 61 years old, survived, but Anthony Hill, then 56, reportedly died March 15 in Arizona. Pierce said in court that results of an autopsy were not yet available, so it is unknown whether his death was related to his injuries from the assault or from another cause.
Salt and Holiday now face numerous charges ranging from first-degree murder to second-degree assault.
On Thursday, District Judge William Furse set a plea hearing for Salt on May 5 at 1:30 p.m.
A hearing on the lawsuit between Leaf Properties and the Montezuma County commissioners has been set for May 21 at 2 p.m. in District Court.
District Judge Todd Plewe set the date at a status conference on Thursday, saying the one-hour hearing will give attorneys time to make arguments and for him to ask questions before the matter moves to trial.
Leaf Properties is a Georgia-based corporation whose agent is Douglas Kinsey. He wants to build a Dollar General store on N Road just off Highway 145, but the county has twice rejected his application for a high-impact permit.
