Murder suspect fighting extradition from Utah

Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter

The man who was arrested and charged with the murder of Sara Filiatraut refused to waive extradition and remains in the Salt Lake County Jail.

Robert Matthew Richards was arrested July 29 in Saratoga Springs, Utah on a warrant charging him with one count of first degree murder.

Filiatraut was reported missing by her family in Michigan on April 15. She had last been seen when she was released from the Lyon County Jail in Yerington on March 21.

The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office said it identified Richards as the suspect in the case early in the investigation, and after Filiatraut’s body was found in a remote area in Churchill County on May 22, they learned Richards was working in Colorado.

Based on evidence seized when a search warrant was served in Colorado, the arrest warrant for Richards was issued in July. U.S. Marshals tracked Richards to Saratoga Springs, where he was arrested July 29.

Because Richards did not waive extradition, he is being held in jail in Salt Lake City until a Governor’s Warrant is issued and then accepted by the Utah governor, a process that typically takes several weeks.