PROVO — A state medical examiner said Brenda Lee Lundell may have still been alive last October after her live-in boyfriend, John Vinanti, allegedly beat her in a drunken rage, wrapped her in a blanket, stuffed her under their bed and left her for dead.
Dr. Edward Leis, deputy chief medical examiner, testified during a preliminary hearing in 4th District Court Friday that Lundell, 45, had suffered severe bruising all over her body, having been either kicked or punched repeatedly. But it was severe blunt-force trauma to her head that killed her.
An autopsy showed that Lundell suffered injury to several regions of her brain, consistent with being slammed repeatedly on a carpeted floor, Leis said. The autopsy also revealed that Lundell's blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit. That, Leis said, could have made her brain injuries more deadly. But despite the severe trauma, Leis said there was a good chance that Lundell survived for a short time.
"She still would have been alive for a period of time," Leis said. By the time her body was discovered, Leis estimated she had been dead for at least 36 hours.
Friends and family of Lundell say the previously divorced mother was the victim of severe domestic abuse at the hands of 39-year-old John Vinanti, a convict who had served time in prison for theft. Neighbors said it was common for Lundell to show up at their door with bruises and black eyes after altercations with Vinanti. Police records show that officers had been called to the home on several occasions for domestic violence.
Lundell's 21-year-old son, Justin Lundell, and his friend, Bryan Olsen, testified in court to seeing Brenda Lundell with black eyes on several occasions. Justin Lundell said his mother confided to him shortly before she was killed that she feared for her life and wanted to seek a protective order against Vinanti.
Justin Lundell said on Oct. 1 he became worried about his mother after he hadn't heard from her for about a week. Justin Lundell said he went to her Spanish Fork home to find Vinanti locked inside the home. The day before, Lundell said Vinanti told him his mother had gone with his grandmother somewhere.
On both days, Vinanti warned Lundell not to go into the master bedroom. "John came in from the bedroom and told me not to try and come into the bedroom," Justin Lundell said.
On Oct. 2, "I was determined to find my mom that day," Justin Lundell said. After entering the locked house through the garage door, Lundell said he found Vinanti lying on the bed, but on the wrong side. "My mom slept on the same side for nine years," he said. "I thought it was very out of place."
Lundell said Vinanti tried to fake a call to the police to get rid of him. By that time Olsen had showed up, and they confronted Vinanti about Brenda Lundell. "I ducked down by the side of the bed, and he asked me what I was doing. I was joking and said, 'I'm just checking under the bed to make sure you didn't stash her under there,' and that's when I saw the sheet."
Justin Lundell's joke turned out to be truth as he saw his mother's feet jutting from under the bed. They were cold to the touch. "I just fell to the ground in shock," Lundell said.
The two men called police. During that time both said Vinanti ran to the living room and quickly drank a large container of vodka.
Spanish Fork police officer Clint Snow testified that Brenda Lundell's naked body was found under the bed. Vinanti allegedly told him, "Just let me die, I want to die."
Vinanti was taken to the hospital after drinking a large amount of vodka. While at the hospital police say Vinanti made incriminating statements. "Specifically he would ask if she was alive," Spanish Fork detective Brad Mitchell said. He said Vinanti asked, "Did I kill her?" and later allegedly said, "What have I done?"
Deputy Utah County Attorney Jeff Buhman said Lundell had been "beaten to a bloody pulp" by the man she lived with. "She was stuffed under the bed, either conscious or unconscious."
Defense attorney Craig Bainam cross-examined witnesses but offered no witnesses during the hearing. Bainam did question Leis whether Lundell's injuries could have been cause by a fall from a high place. Leis said a fall would have resulted in skull fractures, which were not present.
After hearing the evidence, Judge Fred Howard ruled there was sufficient evidence for Vinanti to stand trial on one count of first-degree felony murder and one count of desecration of a human body, a third-degree felony. If convicted, Vinanti faces life in prison.
Bainam then entered not-guilty pleas to both counts on behalf of Vinanti, who said nothing in court. Prosecutors requested a three-week trial. Howard set the trial to begin Aug. 11, in order to give both sides to prepare witnesses.
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