PROVO -- Scott Straw got into a late-night fight June 3 on his front lawn and ended up being beaten to death with a baseball bat.
Kevin Mortensen, a 43-year-old truck driver from Pleasant Grove, later confessed to the crime and pleaded guilty to manslaughter and tampering with evidence, both second-degree felonies.But Mortensen's sentencing was postponed Friday after a judge ordered an investigation into rumors about Straw's own violent past and about whether Straw killed one of the judge's former clients nearly 20 years ago.
Judge Steven L. Hansen of the 4th District Court, a former defense attorney, indicated he might recuse himself from the case if Straw, an ex-convict, had indeed played a role in his former client's death.
"It might bring into mind whether I should continue this case," said Hansen. "It could possibly raise whether or not I have a bias."
As he tried to gain leniency for Mortensen, defense attorney Mike Petro said Straw once bragged of throwing another inmate off a multistoried tier to his death while in prison. The woman who allegedly shared this story with Petro was not in court to testify Friday, although Petro later said he could produce her as a sworn witness if necessary.
"You're dealing with a victim who had a violent reputation," Petro told the judge.
Petro was unable to identify the inmate Straw supposedly killed.
But instead of dismissing Petro's unsubstantiated remarks about Straw as mere hearsay evidence, Hansen added a heavy dose of intrigue and suspense to the tale. Surprisingly, Hansen said he once defended a man named Tom Coleman back in the early 1980s and was informed that Coleman had "died at prison by being thrown over the tiers . . . about 1983 or so."
Hansen then directed Petro and state prosecutors to research whether Straw was involved in Coleman's death and reveal their findings when the case resumes Nov. 30.
Death records at Utah State Prison show no one named Tom Coleman has ever died while imprisoned there, spokesman Jack Ford told the Deseret News.
But in another eerie twist, Ford said he does recall having past conversations with prison guards who spoke of a man falling from inside of the building's tiers about 18 years ago.
"He jumped off," Ford said. "He wasn't thrown. He was trying to get away from some people who had a knife or something."
The identity of the inmate who took the dive remains unknown, but Ford said he did survive. The security guard who witnessed the incident told Ford she does not remember the jumper being named Coleman.
Petro, meanwhile, said Mortensen has no prior history of violence and has never served time in prison. In the moments preceding Straw's death, Mortensen claims Straw tried to rape his girlfriend. When he confronted Straw, Mortensen contends Straw fiercely came toward him and claims he only hit his charging adversary with the bat in self-defense.
Now, Mortensen's last line of defense in court centers around pending facts about Scott Straw's past, a past that could shape the foreseeable future of Kevin Mortensen, and guide whether that future is marked by freedom, a retrial, or a lengthy period behind bars.
Mortensen faces up to 30 years in prison.
"I feel uncomfortable," Hansen said. "I want to know if that was Tom Coleman."