The Montana man accused of brutally raping a woman in Butterfield Canyon last summer has now been charged with making jailhouse arrangements to have his victim killed.
Dale Joseph Labrum, 38, was charged Thursday in U.S. District Court with causing interstate travel for commission of murder for hire. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Labrum has been in the Salt Lake County Jail pending a trial on two counts of aggravated sexual assault and one count of aggravated kidnapping, all first-degree felonies. Each charge carries a possible life prison sentence. However, he is now in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and was transferred Thursday to the Davis County Jail.
Labrum is scheduled to appear in federal court Friday afternoon for an initial appearance on the charges.
According to court documents, Labrum last month asked his cell mate if he knew anyone who would kill his victim. After affirming he had some possible contacts, the cell mate reported the conversation to the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office on Dec. 31.
Police told the cell mate to give Labrum the name "Mitch" as a possible hit man, which he did, charging documents state.
Labrum reportedly contacted his wife in Poplar, Mont., and asked that she come to Utah to arrange payment of some "good-faith money." The woman allegedly met Mitch, an undercover Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office detective, at a convenience store this week and paid him $500, according to court documents.
Later that day, Labrum called Mitch from jail and gave the detective his alleged victim's personal information, court documents state. The conversation was reportedly recorded.
"Labrum stated he wanted it to look 'like a home-invasion type . . . thing if possible," charging documents state.
Labrum also allegedly told the detective he expected to be released between 24 and 48 hours of the murder, and he could personally pay the remaining $2,000 on the contract.
According to documents filed in 3rd District Court, Labrum attacked the woman July 22 while she was taking pictures in the canyon. He handcuffed her to a tree and raped her twice, charges state, before threatening her with a knife, hitting her head against the tree and kicking her in the ribs several times.
After the attack, Labrum allegedly removed the handcuffs and used the victim's shoelaces to leave her tied to the tree. The woman told police she saw Labrum ride away on a dark-color Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Labrum was charged nearly five months after the attack, when an unidentified woman tipped police off to his identity. A Utah native, Labrum was apparently in town for a high school class reunion.
Salt Lake County Sheriff's deputy Peggy Faulkner said being incarcerated doesn't always stop a person's criminal activity. The Sheriff's Office has a sergeant who does nothing but criminal investigations in the jail full time, she said.
Faulkner also said she isn't surprised by the alleged murder-for-hire plot.
"That's why this guy is in jail because he's capable of these types of things," she said. "It doesn't happen often. But I don't know if it's that surprising."
Labrum's wife has not been charged for her alleged participation in the scheme, said Melodie Rydalch, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office. She did not indicate whether charges would be forthcoming.
Contributing: Pat Reavy
E-mail: awelling@desnews.com