DUCHESNE -- Duchesne County Attorney Herb Gillespie said he will not seek the death penalty in the upcoming double murder trial of John R. Pinder. According to Gillespie, the families of victims Rex K. Tanner and June Flood, as well as law enforcement officers investigating the case, agree the death penalty should not be sought.
"If convicted of the murders, Mr. Pinder will face either life without parole or life with the possibility of parole," Gillespie said.Gillespie and representatives from the Utah Attorney General's Office -- the agency assisting the county in prosecuting the case -- met recently with family members of the victims to discuss how the case should proceed and the possible penalties, including the potential of "endless appeals" if Pinder was found guilty and sentenced to die.
"Everyone wanted closure on this case," Gillespie said, adding that family members expressed the thought "that a death sentence would be too easy and that life in prison was deserved" if Pinder is found guilty.
Pinder is accused of kidnaping Tanner and Flood on Oct. 25, 1998, from the home Flood was renting in Strawberry River and taking them to a remote site on his western Duchesne County cattle ranch where he allegedly shot the pair. The two were reported missing a few days later.
On Oct. 31, 1998, law enforcement authorities began uncovering human remains that had apparently been blown up on Pinder's ranch at the Lake Fork site. Most of the remains had been covered with dirt spread by heavy equipment in an attempt to conceal the crime.
Pinder has maintained his innocence. His ranch hand, Filomeno Valenchia-Ruiz, 36, is serving a 15 years to life term in the Utah State Prison after pleading guilty to two murder charges in connection with the deaths. He has agreed to testify against his former boss at Pinder's trial July 6 in Heber. The case was transferred from Duchesne County due to concerns about finding an unbiased jury in Duchesne or Uintah counties.
Gillespie said he also consulted with Duchesne County sheriff's deputies in charge of the case, and they too agreed the death penalty should not be sought.
"It's always been a consideration since the first of the case," explained Det. Sgt. Wally Hendricks. "The death penalty requires a very extreme burden of proof, and it's excruciatingly hard for a jury to do anywhere."
"I thought about this decision for some time," Gillespie said. "I believe it is in the best interests of our case. I considered the totality of circumstances. This decision not to seek the death penalty reflects a consensus among family members, law enforcement and prosecution on how we should proceed."
The decision not to pursue the death penalty will not change the capital murder charges filed against Pinder.