Angry mob beats man to death for allegedly giving pregnant girlfriend a black eye: Cops
Murder
Three people have now been charged with Fred Ortiz’s murder. Police say the other people present were witnesses not involved in the beating.
Child sex crimes
June 5, 2021
5-year-old boy crawls under stall to escape sexual assault in rec center bathroom
A 5-year-old boy crawled out from under a bathroom stall this week to escape a sexual assault in the locker room of a Utah recreation center. The Utah County Sheriff’s Office arrested Jonathan Jareth Soberanis, 26, on Tuesday, charging him with lewdness involving a child, criminal trespass with intent to commit a crime, unlawful detention …
Murder
May 22, 2021
Utah husband fatally shoots wife who said she was leaving him
A Utah man allegedly shot and killed his wife late Friday night after she told him she was leaving him. Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety officers responded to a call late Friday about shots fired in Ivins, a suburb of St George in southwestern Utah, the Gephardt Daily said. “Upon arrival, officers found that the victim …
Missing
May 5, 2021
Missing woman found ALIVE six months later, eating moss in the woods and living in tent: Report
A Utah woman who disappeared in November 2020 has been located alive, according to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office. On May 2, a UCSO Sergeant Search and Rescue Coordinator “returned to Diamond Fork” area in Utah to search for the missing woman, after previous searches proved unfruitful. While utilizing a drone, it crashed into the …
Murder
May 2, 2021
Gang member shoots girlfriend dead, abandons her body in car after interstate crash
A Utah gang member was arrested Saturday and charged with fatally shooting his girlfriend. Terrence Trent Vos, 31, got into a domestic dispute with Shandon Nicole Scott, 32, according to Unified Police, Fox 13 reported. At some point during the argument, Vos allegedly shot Scott, then took off driving with her body in the passenger …
Other
April 5, 2021
New law holds Utah dads responsible for half of pregnancy costs
Biological fathers in Utah are now required to pay half of a woman’s pregnancy costs in a legislative attempt to decrease “the burden of pregnancy,” the bill’s sponsor says. Republican Rep. Brady Brammer said he wanted to do something to make birth easier rather than continue a focus on anti-abortion measures, the Associated Press reported. …
Murder
April 3, 2021
Manhunt tracks down all 3 suspects in murder of Seattle woman who disappeared in Texas in October
Dallas police announced Friday that they had arrested two more suspects in the death of a Seattle woman found who disappeared last October and was found dead in March. Marisela Botello Valadez, 23, was last seen alive on October 5, 2020, according to police, and her remains were found March 24 in a wooded area …
Murder
December 17, 2020
Utah mom takes toddler son on a canyon drive, shoots him, then drives around with his body: Cops
A Utah mother has been jailed for investigation of aggravated murder and child abuse after Uintah County Sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of a shooting and found her toddler son dead. Valerie Peck, 40, also apparently shot herself after killing 2-year-old Zack, the sheriff’s office said. Peck and her son were found near Fantasy Canyon …
Assault
December 12, 2020
Gunman threatens to blow 2-year-old’s ‘brains out’ during home invasion
A Utah man was shot with a pellet gun and his wife stabbed early Thursday morning during a home invasion in which one of the perpetrators pointed his gun at a toddler and threatened to shoot him, the Deseret News reports. Colton Skeet Wilkin-McBride, 27, and Monique Nichole Quintana Briceno, 33, were arrested and charged …
Murder
November 15, 2020
Utah man accused of killing his wife found dead in traffic accident
A Utah man wanted for shooting his wife to death earlier this week was found dead Thursday in his SUV, the result of a crash off Utah Route 39 near Pineview Reservoir, the Weber County Sheriff’s Office said. Scott William Russell, 53, hadn’t made it very far from his Huntsville home, where police found the …
Court
November 15, 2020
Married 35-year-old accused of luring Mormon Seminary Student into hot tub sex
A Utah woman will spend time in jail over a sexual relationship with a teenage boy in 2016, but she won’t have to register as a sex offender after a plea deal took a sex crime off the table, East Idaho News reports. District Judge Darren Simpson sentenced Amanda Katherine Steele, 35, to 90 days …
Court
November 12, 2020
Rape victim tells court that male Jehovah’s Witness church leaders made her listen to her own recorded rape for at least four hours
The Utah Supreme Court heard arguments this week in connection with a Salt Lake City girl who said she was raped and forced to listen to the recording of the incident. Deseret News reports that a woman now in her 20s asserted that the male leaders of a Jehovah’s Witnesses forced her to listen to …