A Roy man was ordered to stand trial in district court for the death two years ago of his wife in Clearfield, a death police at first thought was a suicide.
Thomas W. Randolph Jr., 33, was bound over to 2nd District Court on charges of first-degree criminal homicide, a first-degree murder charge that carries the death penalty, and a third-degree felony charge of filing a false insurance claim for collecting $28,000 in death benefits on his wife, Rebecca G. Randolph.Because of threats Randolph reportedly made against potential witnesses, 2nd Circuit Court Judge Alfred VanWagenen granted a motion by Davis County Attorney Mel Wilson that Randolph be held with no bail.
According to testimony in Randolph's daylong preliminary hearing, his wife was found Nov. 11, 1986, dead of a gunshot wound to the head. She was lying in bed in their former home at 2265 S. First West in Clearfield.
Although the state medical examiner ruled the death a suicide, some aspects of the incident made the Clearfield Police suspicious and they pursued the case against Randolph, arresting him Nov. 30 of this year on the murder charge.
A former friend of Randolph's, Eric Tarantino, testified Randolph offered him $10,000 to help him kill his wife and the two came up with and rehearsed numerous ways of making her death look like an accident.
Tarantino also testified he was afraid of Randolph, was infatuated with Becky Randolph, and never intended to kill her. Randolph found out he had told other people about the murder plot, Tarantino testified, and beat him so severely he was hospitalized.
He then left the state, Tarantino said, confirming under questioning by defense attorney John Caine that he has been offered immunity against conspiracy and homicide charges himself in return for his testimony against Randolph.