A Grantsville man pleaded guilty Tuesday to murdering his mother and three siblings when he was 16 years old.
Colin Jeffery "CJ" Haynie, who turned 19 this month, was charged as an adult with four counts of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, in the shooting deaths of his mother, Consuelo Alejandra Haynie, 52; sisters Alexis Haynie, 15, and Milan Haynie, 12; and brother Matthew Haynie, 14.
CJ Haynie was also charged, and pleaded guilty, to the attempted murder of his father.
Five counts of discharge of a firearm, a first-degree felony, were dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Haynie was transported to the courtroom for the hearing and dressed in a white collared shirt. Aside from lawyers and court staff, there were only a few people in the courtroom, and it didn’t seem that any were there as family or friends of Haynie. Everyone in the room was wearing a mask, to comply with current court policy.
There was an option to watch the proceedings online as well, and more people were watching remotely.
The teenager shot and killed his mother and three of his siblings with a handgun over a five-hour period as they each returned home on Jan. 17, 2020, according to documents read at the hearing. His father arrived home later and was shot in the leg before he wrestled the handgun away from his son.
In Tooele's 3rd District Court, Haynie agreed those are the facts of the case, and said that he he is pleading guilty because he is guilty.
"(The father) said that he told the defendant that the defendant's mother would be sad if the defendant killed him," charging documents said. "He said the defendant told him that his mother and other siblings were already dead."
Photos of Consuelo Alejandra Haynie, 52, and three of her children are displayed at a community event honoring them shortly after they were shot and killed. Colin Jeffrey Haynie, another of her children, pleaded guilty Tuesday to killing them.
Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
A neighbor, unaware of what had happened, agreed to drive the father and son to a hospital and called 911 from the hospital after Haynie told him that he had killed his family.
The judge told Haynie because of the counts he pleaded guilty to, first-degree felony counts, the mandatory minimum sentence is between 25 years and life for each count.
Haynie is being held in a juvenile detention center on a $4 million bail. His attorney, Richard Van Wagoner, said it is expected he will remain there until he is 25 years old, another six years, before being transferred to an adult facility.
Because of this, Van Wagoner said they are not in a rush to hold the sentencing and asked for about four months to prepare for it. After Haynie waived his right to be sentenced within 45 days, the judge set the sentencing date for Dec. 7 at 9 a.m.