SALT LAKE CITY — A burglar who beat a Tooele woman to death with a hammer when he was 18 years old has been ordered to spend at least six years and up to life in the Utah State Prison.
After an investigation that spanned more than four years, police linked DNA on the hammer to Rogelio Diaz Jr. in 2016. He was charged with murder in the death of 69-year-old Evelynn Derricott, who was found dead in her home.
Diaz, now 27, admitted Monday that he was trying to steal from Derricott’s home when he encountered her, then picked up a hammer and pulled her hoodie over her head and struck her 10 times with the hammer, killing her on Oct. 7, 2011.
As part of an agreement with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to reduced charges of aggravated burglary; a first-degree felony; and manslaughter, a second-degree felony, in Derricott’s death. A trial had been set to begin the same day.
Third District Judge Matthew Bates immediately sentenced Diaz to consecutive sentences of five years and up to life for the burglary and one to 15 years for manslaughter on Monday.
At the crime scene in Derricott’s house, a Stanley hammer was found with stains later identified as human blood and sent to the state crime lab for analysis. The DNA of an unknown male was found on the hammer in addition to Derricott’s DNA.
A day after her body was found at 410 Havasu Drive, investigators tracked down Derricott’s car in Kearns with her cellphone inside. DNA collected off the steering wheel matched the male DNA found on the hammer, police said.
But the DNA that was collected did not match anyone in an offender database that contained roughly 110,000 DNA records.
With other leads exhausted, the state crime lab agreed to test the DNA to find potential relatives in the database, a search made possible by advances in technology.
After the familial testing, police followed a lead that ultimately implicated Diaz, who lived in West Valley City. They began watching Diaz and collected work gloves and a energy drink can. DNA analysis of the items matched the genetic profile found on the hammer.