DUCHESNE -- At least one of the victims of a gruesome double homicide in Duchesne County died of multiple gunshot wounds before the bodies were blown up, a medical examiner testified Tuesday.
Dr. Todd C. Grey said the recovery of the head and torso of Rex K. Tanner, 48, provided enough evidence to conclude that Tanner suffered "blunt force injuries" to his head and jaw before being shot in the chest and back by a medium caliber gun.Although the remains of a woman were also found with Tanner, Grey said there were not enough body parts to scientifically identify the woman as June Flood, Tanner's 59-year-old companion. Flood was later identified by the mismatched socks found at her home and on her feet, which were recovered by authorities.
Grey said his examination did show that both victims were dead before their bodies were blown up.
A toxicology sample taken from Tanner's heart tissue tested negative for the presence of alcohol in his system, but there was evidence of an anti-inflammatory and a high level of amphetamine, Grey said. The amphetamine can be produced in the metabolism of methamphetamine, he explained.
Prosecutors contend that on Oct. 25, 1998, John R. Pinder and Filomeno Valenchia-Ruiz confronted Tanner and Flood at the Strawberry River home that Flood rented, shot them both and then took their bodies to a remote site on the JJNP Ranch where the bodies were blown up with explosives.
Pinder, 41, had allegedly blamed the pair for stealing from him. Tanner and Flood were both former employees on the Pinder ranch.
David Albert Brunyer, 36, the key witness in the case and a former part-time hired hand on the Pinder ranch, testified for a second day during the preliminary hearing. He said he went along with orders from Pinder to wipe down Flood's home of fingerprints and blood two days after the deaths because he was "curious" and needed a job.
As he helped look for scattered and exploded body parts, he began questioning his boss about what had happened.
"I said, 'What's driven you to do this, John?' He said they were liars and thieves and maggots and now they are vaporized," Brunyer recounted.
He said the conversation then turned to talk of "Indian gold," and how Pinder had directions to find gold "in the canyon" and wanted Brunyer to go look for it after the body parts were cleaned up at the ranch.
While helping Ruiz and Pinder look for body parts, Brunyer said he still couldn't believe what had happened "until he (Pinder) started pulling pieces out of a garbage bag and said, 'This is a nose,' and 'This is an ear.' " He said he stayed with the men instead of reporting the slayings to authorities because he feared for his safety.
Defense attorney Ron Yengich tried to discredit Brunyer's testimony by referring to a meeting he had with a sheriff's detective about three months prior to the slayings. Detectives had asked him to consider working "undercover" to help them "bring down John Pinder."
"You knew as early as last year that the police were eager to have you implicate John Pinder and get paid money for it," Yengich questioned.
But Brunyer said even though he "got the impression there were a lot of illegal things going on down there (at the Pinder ranch that) they were aware of," digging up information about his friends for the police was the furthest thing from his mind.
The preliminary hearing is scheduled to wind up Wednesday. Pinder and Ruiz each face two capital murder counts and various other felonies.