California man charged in stabbing death of Midvale massage therapist - KUTV 2News

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SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill and Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera on Tuesday announced a California resident had been named as a suspect in a murder at a Midvale massage parlor.

The man was arrested Jan. 19, when he was found outside a massage parlor in California, according to charging documents.

A warrant has been issued in Utah for the arrest of Steven Chance Brinkerhoff, 39, of Redondo Beach, California, for a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Yuping Jiao, a massage therapist found dead with multiple stab wounds Jan. 4.

Details have been released only periodically throughout the investigation so far, with news that Yuping had been "brutally attacked and stabbed" coming more than a week after her death was publicly announced as "suspicious."

The charging documents revealed more details into the grisly scene and how investigators came to name Brinkerhoff as the suspect.

According to the murder charge, Yuping, who was working alone at the massage parlor on Jan. 4, was discovered later in the day by her brother.

"When the victim was not responding, her brother went to the parlor to check on her and found her deceased in a massage room," court documents state. "The victim was found with approximately 56 stab wounds."

The multiple stab wounds were confirmed by the Utah Medical Examiner's office, which found Yuping had been stabbed in her back, neck, shoulder, arms, knee and head, the DA's document revealed.

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According to a police affidavit filed along with the charge, the responding officer found Yuping "laying on the floor on her back, saturated in blood."

The officer's report stated the victim was surrounded by a "large pool of blood," and that there was blood all over the room.

Surveillance video reportedly showed a man with one leg, who was using a wheelchair, arrive at A+ Massage at approximately 12:30 p.m. that day and leaving about two hours later.

Crime scene investigators found a male DNA profile on Yuping's clothes, a bandage, a towel and under her fingernails, the affidavit revealed. The samples were entered into the National DNA Index System and returned a match for Brinkerhoff, "who matched the person arriving and leaving A+ Massage on Jan. 4, 2024 on video surveillance including that he only had one leg," according to the investigator's report.

Brinkerhoff had reportedly been in communication with Yuping via text, according to court documents, and phone records showed he'd been in the area of the massage parlor on the day of the murder.

"Detectives learned that after the murder, the defendant fled back to California" where Brinkerhoff's criminal record is extensive, according to the DA's charge.

That list includes, possession of a dangerous weapon, assault on an officer, public fighting, drug possession, possession of stolen property, a court order violation put in place to prevent domestic violence, according to the documents.

"The defendant was recently arrested on January 19, 2024, in California outside of a massage parlor," authorities noted.

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