Murder charges have been filed against a lion-owning Duchesne man in the killing and mutilation of two Duchesne County residents.
The scattered remains of Rex K. Tanner, 48, Strawberry River, and a body believed to be his girlfriend, June Flood, who is believed to be in her mid-50s, were found Friday. The couple had been reported missing two days earlier.
John R. Pinder was charged with one count of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, in Tanner's death, one count of aggravated murder in the death of June Flood, and one count of second-degree felony witness tampering in 8th District Court in Duchesne late Wednesday.
An arrest warrant was also issued Wednesday. Bail for Pinder was set at $1 million, according to court documents. Police also want to talk to Pinder's girlfriend, who has been identified as Barbara DeHart.
Another suspect in the deaths is Filimeno Ruiz-Valencia, a 34-year-old Mexican national who was employed by Pinder on the ranch he owns with his father, Robert Pinder, a Park City attorney. Ruiz-Valencia remains in custody on charges stemming from the theft of property from Flood's Strawberry River home, where the victims lived. Ruiz-Valencia is also charged with tampering with evidence and driving without a license.
Bail for Ruiz-Valencia of $100,000 was hiked to $500,000 Monday. A bail hearing was scheduled for Thursday in Roosevelt.
Sheriff Ralph Stansfield said Pinder has hired former Duchesne County public defender Patricia Geary as his attorney. "We have had contact with (Geary) and we have had no progress" contacting Pinder.
Stansfield also said his department is not putting a lot of weight into stories that victims' body parts were fed to Pinder's lion, Simbad.
Members of the Duchesne County sheriff's office were expected to leave for Idaho on Thursday to interview two women who say they have information about the slaying.
Victims' remains were found on a remote ranch in the western portion of the county Saturday. The victims had been shot and then taken to the site on the JJNP Ranch, where the bodies were blown up and then covered with dirt by heavy equipment.
Stansfield said the state medical examiner has confirmed that Tanner was shot in the chest. The type of gun used still has not been determined.
Searchers are still combing the ranch for remains, able as of Thursday to determine one vicitm was a woman but unable to positively identify her as Flood.
The search of a hillside in Lake Canyon 20 miles southwest of Duchesne, where the bodies were destroyed, was to conclude Thursday. So far the search has turned up body parts belonging only to two individuals, said the sheriff, despite reports others may have been killed and buried at the site.
Stansfield said searches of the ranch and Pinder's home did not turn up any type of explosives or drugs.
Officers from Kootenai County, Idaho, are assisting in the investigation, following leads evidence may have been taken to Idaho for disposal. Idaho officers searched Dumpsters and planned to scour the Coeur d'Alene River Thursday in their search for a weapon and other evidence.
The motive for the slayings, which are believed to have taken place Sunday, Oct. 25, is still being questioned, according to the sheriff. A tip that the victims stumbled across the bodies of two prostitutes from Arizona and were murdered to cover up the discovery did not pan out, he said. "We searched where the two dead hookers were supposed to be in the (Strawberry) River and they're not there."
The sheriff's office never found any missing persons reports that would have substantiated stories about missing women from Arizona. Also debunked was a story Pinder's estranged wife, Beverly, was missing. She lives and works in Heber.
Valencia-Ruiz and Pinder were together in August when the two were charged by Vernal police with drunken driving. Pinder was also charged with numerous weapons violations. The two aroused a great deal of attention when they drove into the parking lot of a 7-Eleven store with Pinder's African lion, Sinbad, in the back of their pickup truck.
Pinder has a license to have the lion at his Duchesne County ranch. Sheriff's deputies are caring for the lion at the ranch while they look for Pinder.