Author: Lindsay Whitehurst
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Police say DNA links uncle to disappearance of Utah child
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LOGAN, Utah • DNA has provided further evidence that the 21-year-old uncle of a missing 5-year-old girl in Utah is behind her disappearance, police said Tuesday. Evidence also indicates the girl, Elizabeth “Lizzy” Shelley, is hurt, authorities said, though they did not elaborate. She was reported missing Saturday morning by her family after they woke…
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Killer of Utah student Lauren McCluskey called himself womanizing manipulator
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SALT LAKE CITY — A sex offender who killed a University of Utah student he briefly dated once said at a parole hearing that he was a womanizer who manipulated women to get what he wanted. Melvin Rowland said he was attracted to teenage girls and vulnerable women, and sought to manipulate those he met…
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Ex-convict pleads guilty in Chinese student’s shooting death
SALT LAKE CITY — An ex-convict pleaded guilty Wednesday to killing a University of Utah student from China using a gun stolen after another slaying. Austin Boutain, 24, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the plea agreement that allowed him to avoid the death penalty. He pleaded guilty to…
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Other states looking at ‘free-range parenting’ after Utah law creates buzz
SALT LAKE CITY — After Utah passed the country’s first law legalizing so-called free-range parenting, groups in states from New York to Texas are pushing for similar steps to bolster the idea that supporters say is an antidote for anxiety-plagued parents and overscheduled kids. Free-range parenting is the concept that giving kids the freedom to…
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Leaping elk crashes low-flying research helicopter in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY — An elk leaped into a research helicopter that was trying to capture it and brought down the helicopter in a collision that also killed the elk, authorities said Tuesday. The elk jumped into the chopper’s tail rotor as the aircraft flew about 10 feet (3 meters) above ground in a mountainous…
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Ex-con, wife charged in carjack killing of Chinese student
SALT LAKE CITY — An ex-convict accused of gunning down a University of Utah student with a weapon stolen from a slain Colorado man was charged with aggravated murder, robbery and a dozen other counts on Thursday. Austin Boutain, 24, hatched the deadly carjacking plot with his wife, who is also accused in the Colorado…
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Police scour for details leading to Utah student’s slaying
SALT LAKE CITY — Authorities are trying to figure out how a longtime criminal recently released from an Alabama prison ended up in a Utah canyon where he’s suspected of killing a 23-year-old devout Mormon immigrant from China. ChenWei Guo came to the United States in 2012 and dreamed of opening a consulting firm. He…
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Colorado police link Utah suspect to 2nd death
SALT LAKE CITY — A man sought in the fatal attempted carjacking of a University of Utah student and the death of a Colorado man was arrested Tuesday after he surrendered to authorities at a Salt Lake City library, police said. Austin Boutain, 24, dodged a manhunt in the rugged foothills near campus for nearly…
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Utah officer who arrested nurse over blood test put on leave
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah nurse said she was scared to death when a police officer handcuffed and dragged her screaming from a hospital after she refused to allow blood to be drawn from an unconscious patient. After Alex Wubbels and her attorneys released dramatic video of the arrest, prosecutors called for a criminal investigation and…
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VIDEO: Hikers form human chain in flood-swollen Utah river
SALT LAKE CITY — One of several hikers who formed a human chain across a river swollen with flash flood waters in the Utah desert said Thursday it was powerful watching people help each other through the dangerous situation. Jhonatan Gonzalez said rainfall upstream transformed the calm water on a hot and sunny day at…