Buk Mawut Buk: Aaron Lowe Murder, Plea, and Sentencing

Buk Mawut Buk is the man who shot and killed University of Utah football player Aaron Lowe and critically wounded Lowe’s girlfriend, Fuamoli Pomale, outside a Salt Lake City house party on September 26, 2021. He pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder in March 2024 and was sentenced the following month to a combined minimum of 18 years to life in Utah State Prison.¹

What Happened the Night of the Shooting

The shooting took place in the early morning hours of September 26, 2021, at a house party near 2200 South Broadmoor Street in the Sugar House neighborhood. Utah football players were celebrating a win over Washington State. Buk was among a group of uninvited guests who arrived and caused a disturbance.²

Lowe, 21, and Pomale, 20, tried to leave, but their vehicle was blocked. When Lowe asked the men to move the car, an argument broke out. Two witnesses in a nearby detached garage saw Buk reach into a sling bag worn by another man, pull out a handgun, and walk down the driveway. He opened fire on Lowe and Pomale within seconds.³ After both fell, witnesses said, Buk kept firing, attempting to “finish them off.”⁴ A witness recorded cell phone video showing the shooter standing over the victims as at least five additional shots were heard.

Lowe, a sophomore cornerback from Mesquite, Texas, died at the scene. An autopsy recovered four bullets from his body.² Pomale was shot in the neck and chest and found in extremely critical condition. She survived after extensive surgery. Initially unable to speak, she communicated with police by typing on her phone.⁵ An associate drove Buk away from the scene. He was arrested a week later, on October 3, 2021, in Draper, and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail without bail.⁶

Who Buk Mawut Buk Was Before the Murder

Buk came to the United States in 2011 as a refugee. Federal immigration records list his birthdate as January 1, 1999, a common default date assigned to refugees who arrive without verifiable birth records.⁷ By the time of the shooting, he had built a significant criminal record in Salt Lake County, and his age had become a recurring legal issue.

In several prior cases, defense attorney Lance Talakai produced a handwritten “Notification of Birth” from the Republic of South Sudan listing Buk’s birthdate as November 19, 2001. That later date would have made Buk a minor at the time of several offenses. The document was never authenticated, and officials noted that verifying such records from South Sudan is virtually impossible.⁷ The tactic led to the dismissal of a 2019 burglary charge after Buk signed a plea deal as an 18-year-old and then claimed during a pre-sentence investigation to be 17. Prosecutors moved to dismiss and refile in juvenile court, but the case was never refiled. Additional felony charges — burglary, animal cruelty, theft, and providing false information to police — were also dismissed amid the age dispute.⁸

In cases that did resolve, Buk pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree robbery as part of a “global resolution” tied to incidents in which he and an accomplice allegedly robbed victims at gunpoint and knifepoint. In November 2020, he was charged with illegally possessing a gun after being found in a stolen car with a stolen handgun and ammunition. That charge was dropped because four people were in the vehicle and prosecutors said they could not prove whose gun it was. He pleaded guilty instead to failing to stop at an officer’s command, a misdemeanor.⁹

During a hearing on one of those earlier cases, prosecutor Roger Baylock told Buk directly: “He needs to understand, if he’s going to be riding around with people with firearms in the car, he’s going to have much more serious problems and probably end up in prison.”¹⁰ Months later, Buk killed Aaron Lowe.

The Guilty Plea

On March 11, 2024, Buk pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree felony murder for killing Lowe and one count of first-degree felony attempted murder for shooting Pomale. In exchange, the court dismissed charges of obstruction of justice and possession of a weapon by a restricted person. The original aggravated murder and aggravated attempted murder charges were reduced under the agreement.²¹¹

The Sentence

Third District Court Judge Paul Parker sentenced Buk on April 29, 2024, to 15 years to life for the murder and three years to life for the attempted murder, ordered to run consecutively. The combined minimum is 18 years to life.¹ Those sentences also run consecutive to the prison time Buk was already serving for his earlier robbery convictions.¹²

Judge Parker called the murder “a cowardly act” and “a terrible act,” saying, “Because of that, justice must be served.” He said he was “troubled” by Buk’s attempt to rationalize carrying a gun.¹²

What Lowe’s Family and Buk Said in Court

Lowe’s father, Darwin Lowe (identified in some reports as William Smith Jr.), addressed Buk directly. “We lost a son, a brother, a friend, and a confidant to me. There are no words to describe the pain we all felt.” He said the family had forgiven Buk the night they learned of Aaron’s death: “Even though we didn’t know you, we forgave you that very night.”¹³

Lowe’s mother, Donna Lowe-Stern, told the court she had not. “That night, Mr. Buk Buk put a hole in my heart. He broke a bond. Aaron was a triplet. There are two more, so it was three of them, and he broke a cord that would never be bonded again. I have no forgiveness in my heart right now.” She said she prayed he would remain behind bars for life.¹³¹²

Buk apologized to the Lowe family, his own family, and the state of Utah. “I was lost, and I didn’t know better. I’m striving to be a better man for my family and community. I can’t imagine the pain and suffering you go through. I’m sorry.”¹³

Where He Is Now

Buk remains incarcerated in the Utah State Prison system, serving consecutive sentences that carry a combined minimum of 18 years before he becomes eligible for parole. As of the most recent available reporting, no appeals have been filed.¹⁴

1
Salt Lake County District Attorney. Buk Mawut Buk Sentenced for Murder of Aaron Lowe
2
Courthouse News Service. Man Pleads Guilty to Murdering University of Utah Football Player Aaron Lowe
3
Gephardt Daily. New Details Released in Murder of Aaron Lowe Including Revelation of Video, Suspect Formally Charged
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KSL TV. Man Pleads Guilty to Murdering University of Utah Football Player Aaron Lowe
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KSL TV. Suspect From Aaron Lowe Shooting Charged With Murder
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Court TV. Suspect Arrested in Murder of University of Utah Football Player
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KJZZ. Buk Buk Uses Foreign Birth Certificate Before Allegedly Murdering Utah Football Player
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KUTV. Buk Mawut Buk Pleads Guilty to Aaron Lowe Murder
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Fox 13 Salt Lake City. Criminal History of Aaron Lowe’s Accused Murderer
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KSL TV. Before Aaron Lowe Killing, Suspect Told a Judge He’d Avoid the Wrong People at the Wrong Time
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KSL Sports. Aaron Lowe Murderer Buk Buk Sentenced to 15 Years to Life
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Yahoo Sports. Cowardly Act: Gunman Who Killed Utah Football Player Sentenced
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KSL TV. Buk Buk Sentenced to 15 Years to Life for 2021 Death of Aaron Lowe
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Fox 13 Salt Lake City. I Was Lost: Buk Buk Sentenced Up to Life in Prison for Murder of Aaron Lowe