PROVO — In somber testimony that at times moved several jurors to tears, a 12-year-old Payson girl testified watching her drunken father march to his truck, retrieve a shotgun and march back to her house, where her terrified mother was on the phone to police calling for help.
As the prosecution started making its case on Thursday, Boyd Mason watched as his daughter recounted her nightmare on the first day of what is expected to be a weeklong trial. Mason faces charges of first-degree murder, committing an act of domestic violence in front of a child, a third-degree felony, and obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony.
Police allege that Mason, in a drunken rage, drove to the home of his in-laws in Payson to confront his ex-wife and force her to come back to him.
Payson police detective Chandler Buckley recalled receiving a call about a shooting on the morning of Nov. 29, 2001. Struggling to hold back tears, Buckley said he found the terrified little girl waiting outside as her mother lay inside moaning and bleeding after being shot multiple times.
In a soft voice, the girl recounted the events of that snowy November morning. She was waiting for her mother, Stacy Mason, to take her to school when she ran outside to brush the newly fallen snow from the eyes of her snowman. It was then, she said, that her father, Boyd Mason, drove up in his truck.
The girl said she noticed her dad was "wobbly" like he had been drinking and he asked her where her mother was. Following him inside, the girl said she witnessed Mason push her mother and order her to get into his truck. "I walked inside and saw my dad push my mother," she said. She said her mother ran to the phone and managed to dial a "9" for 911 when Mason barked an order for her to put down the phone and pushed her.
She said her mother told her to run to a neighbor's house for help. The girl said she ran out of the house as her father chased after her. She said she made it to the neighbor's door but froze as she watched her father go to his truck and retrieve a shotgun. "He walked up to the door," she said. "He shot it."
Displaying the door to the jury, deputy Utah County attorney Curtis Larson pointed out two shotgun holes that ripped through the metal door. The girl said she then heard at least two gunshots inside the house and continued to watch as Boyd Mason ran out of the house, threw his gun in the truck and drove off.
As she went back inside the house, the girl said, "I saw my mom lying on the ground." Wiping away tears, she said she saw blood and open wounds. Moved by the girl's account, several jurors also began to cry.
Dr. Todd Grey, the state medical examiner, testified that one gunshot round ripped through Stacy Mason's hip and the second shot nearly severed her right arm, entering her abdomen. Shotgun pellets destroyed her liver, shredded a lung and damaged her heart, according to Grey's autopsy.
The girl testified that after talking to the dispatcher, she couldn't bear to watch her mother, who was moaning but did not appear conscious, so she ran outside.
"Were you scared that your mom was going to die?" Larson asked.
"Yes," she replied in a small voice.
Stacy Mason later died of severe blood loss at a local hospital.
Payson ambulance driver Kevin Kay testified that Stacy Mason managed to say one thing. "She just said, 'Don't let me die.' "
Police say Boyd Mason didn't get far before crashing his truck into a power pole and knocking down power lines.
Utah County sheriff's deputy Richard Case testified police launched a manhunt for Mason. Several hours later, a cold, frantic Mason nearly ran into Case while officers searched the farm property of Mason's parents. Case said Mason was cold and wet. "He stated, 'I didn't mean to hurt anybody,' which he said several times," Case said. Case also said Mason tried to incite officers to shoot him. "He called me a heartless b------ and told me to shoot him" several times, Case said. He said a shotgun shell was found in Mason's back pocket, the same type as that used to kill his ex-wife.
Police said a later search of Mason's truck turned up an arsenal of ammunition, including several types of shotgun shells and several boxes of hollow-point handgun bullets. Two bottles of hard liquor were also found.
Public defense attorneys representing Mason contend that at the time of the murder, Mason's blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit and that his state of mind was impaired.
Prosecutors say they plan to show that Mason spoke to police and walked in a manner that showed he was in full control and knew what he was doing.
As part of Friday's testimony, prosecutors plan to play a tape of the five-hour interview police had with Mason shortly after the slaying.
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