Jorge Martin Benvenuto, who admitted fatally gunning down Zachary Snarr, 18, and seriously injuring Yvette Rodier Evans, 18, as part of a "thrill kill," has asked the Utah Supreme Court to let him withdraw his guilty plea.
Benvenuto says he is a Uruguayan citizen and was not told he had the right to contact his consulate when he was arrested.
Benvenuto, 29, told investigators he shot the teens because he wanted to see what it felt like to watch them die.
Snarr, an award-winning photographer, and Rodier Evans were shot Aug. 28, 1996, after they went above Dimple Dell Reservoir to take pictures of the moon. Snarr died at the scene, while Rodier Evans lay badly wounded on the ground, pretending to be dead so Benvenuto would not shoot her again.
Benvenuto pleaded guilty to capital murder in 1998 in a plea bargain that resulted in a sentence of life in prison without parole.
But two years ago, he petitioned 3rd District Court to let him withdraw his guilty plea because he claimed he was unaware when he was arrested that a provision in the 1963 Vienna Convention, signed by many nations including the United States and Uruguay, permits foreign nationals to notify their consulate if they are arrested in another country.
Defense attorney Grant "Bill" Morrison contends Benvenuto's rights under the convention were violated.
However, prosecutor Thomas Brunker argues that when Benvenuto entered into the plea agreement before 3rd District Judge Anne Stirba, he told the judge twice that he was a U.S. citizen, so there would be no need to be informed about the Uruguayan consulate. Additionally, Benvenuto had listed himself as a U.S. citizen on an employment application.
Brunker also contends Benvenuto filed his claim too late. Benvenuto learned about the Vienna Convention in September 2002 but did not petition the court to withdraw his guilty plea until July 2005.
Morrison counters with the argument that Benvenuto learned of his rights from a member of the Uruguayan consulate, but this information came from someone who was not a lawyer and without legal advice, and that Benvenuto, who has only a ninth-grade education, could not be expected to know what to do.
Benvenuto's petition to 3rd District Court was denied by 3rd District Judge Deno Himonas in January 2006, and Benvenuto then appealed to the Utah Supreme Court, which has taken the case under advisement.
E-mail: lindat@desnews.com