A Washington City man convicted of bludgeoning a 20-year-old woman to death in a St. George convenience store has been sentenced to Utah State Prison.
Fifth District Judge James L. Shumate imposed a five-year-to-life sentence and recommended 37-year-old Timothy Howard Edwards "spend a maximum amount of time possible incarcerated" for the August 1991 slaying of Jill Stoddard Wil-liam-son.Shumate ruled Edwards, who had pleaded guilty and mentally ill to the crime, was not mentally ill when he beat the woman with a hammer, loaded her in a van and dumped her nude body at a storage shed.
The judge said he was concerned that Edwards has not taken responsibility for the crime, instead brushing it off as a one-time anomaly.
"The defendant seems to think this will never happen again without coming to terms with his actions," Shumate said. "The court finds this constitutes a clear and present danger."
Washington County Attorney Eric Ludlow said a pre-sentence report prepared by the Division of Adult Probation and Parole says Edwards has shown little remorse over the killing.
"I don`t have much sympathy for the defendant," he said. Edwards "showed an absolute total wanton disregard to human life."
Edwards apologized in court to the victim's family.
"I would like to say I am extremely sorry for what's happened," said Edwards. "I want to express that to them (to Stoddard`s family). I want them to know that."
Edwards, a laundry deliveryman, stopped at the Tri-Mart Convenience Store the morning of Aug. 16, 1991. He told investigators he had been looking at pornography and was sexually attracted to the victim.