infamous utah criminals

Infamous Utah: Gary Gilmore

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Although Gary Gilmore might not be considered a “serial killer” or even a prolific criminal, it is everything that happened after his killings in Orem and Provo, Utah that would cement his story in criminal history.

Gary was not born and raised in Utah, but his final days would be spent in the Utah State prison in the late 70’s. Born December 4th 1940 in Waco, Texas Gary’s life was already set on an unfortunate path. We wonder if he even had a chance as he started his life out with an alias right out the gate. The thing with these criminals is they are super smart and start their criminal history at a young age. Gary was already in a reform school at the age of 14 because of an auto theft. Fast forward another 6 years and he is in Oregon to at a correctional facility for larceny.

During these incarcerations we are wondered, was it just the time in our history that mental health help wasn’t offered to convicts? After being in and out of jail for the next 10 years from 1962 to 1972 for a number of crimes, this is where Gary was put on an anti-psychotic drug, Prolixin, and was finally transferred east to Illinois. Enter his time in Utah.

In 1976 he was transferred into the custody of his cousin, Brenda *who would be the person to turn in him*, which we can only speculate as an adult was because he was on anti-psychosis drugs? It wasn’t 4 months later that Gary went on his murder spree in Provo and Orem, Utah. It was a swift 4 months between his crimes and his conviction. Almost unheard of.

Time Magazine did a write up in 2015 about Gary’s execution. Gary said he wanted to die with dignity. You may be familiar with the Nike saying “just do it” this was a play off of some of the final words from Gilmore.

Photo:
Aysel Muradh

Gary’s murders and execution by the state of Utah in 1977 ended a nationwide moratorium on the death penalty that had lasted nearly 10 years. What else we found to be slightly frustrating is that Gary didn’t even fight his execution. He actually asked for it to happen swiftly. He even tried to commit suicide, but to no avail. Gary’s crimes, to conviction, to execution may be one of the swiftest cases in modern history. There have been songs such as 1977 The Adverts top 20 UK hit, “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes.” There were also books, and TV movies made about Gary. Murderpedia is one of our favorite resources to find this information. If you want to read more, Clark County Prosecutor.org has a great timeline on their website as well.

Stay tuned for our next Infamous Utah Criminal segment at the end of each month!

We will ALWAYS love your “likes” BUT don’t forget to click that little SHARE button (or retweet) *sharing IS indeed caring* You can find us and subscribe on Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Itunes, and Google Play and TuneIN. Leave us a review and Follow us on the Twitter @tnupodcast, Instagram @Tnupodcast, or on Facebook The New Utah Podcast

Music By: Folk Hogan. Bootleggers Dance.

Infamous Utah: Ted Bundy

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What can you write about serial killer Ted Bundy that hasn’t already been written over the past 30 years? For our new monthly segment, on an infamous Utah criminal, we wanted to focus on Ted’s time in Utah, the women that he killed and attempted to kill in Utah, and how Utah law enforcement played a massive part in bringing Ted Bundy down.

Did you know that Ted Bundy converted to Mormonism while he was here in Utah? Was it so he would have some sense of normalcy? Was it for an alibi? Local Utah researcher, Captain Borax True Crime Tours aka Chris Mortensen, interviewed Ted’s congregation members and “friends.” Chris has created a tour on YouTube of Ted’s steps and has done extensive research of his actions and steps throughout Utah. Ted was in and out of Utah over the course of a couple years and unfortunately 7 women, that we know of, fell victim. There was one or two that were able to get away, most notably Carol DaRonch who was 18 years old at the time. All you have to do is type into Google, Ted Bundy, and you can find plenty of information. There are numerous documentaries, old TV movies, the new Netflix series Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, and so much more. We tried to research local Utah articles and information for our episode. For a little dip into Ted Bundy and how he got into the LDS church during his time in Utah, below is part 1 of 3 of Captain Borax True Crime Tours of Ted Bundy and the LDS church.

We asked ourselves at the end of the interview, should Ted have gotten the death penalty? Is him being a sociopath a mental illness? What would you have liked to have seen done with Ted Bundy? We can’t forget the local women, as well as the others, who were taken. We hope that through a resurgence of Ted right now because of the anniversary of his execution, the Sundance film, and Netflix documentary that the memory of these women and their families will not be forgotten.

Music By: Folk Hogan; Bootleggers Dance


Episode 140 Dead by Dinner Time

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Episode 140 we added a new monthly feature! Once a month we will do a feature on a famous Utah criminal… think Ted Bundy, Mark Hoffman, Josh Powell, Gary Ridgeway, etc. There are WAY more than you would imagine. If you want to hear one before another feel free to send us a message in our online form, we are open for suggestion!

We gave our weekly review of some of the first week of the 2019 legislative session. The Desert News wrote a article of fantastic ways, even if you just have 5 minutes, of how to get involved with local politics. Whether you are calling, writing letters, going to town halls, using social media to stay in touch, there are ways to be involved. Also, click HERE for the link to the actual bills that are going through the session. You can follow them through the whole process.

We will ALWAYS love your “likes” BUT don’t forget to click that little SHARE button (or retweet) *sharing IS indeed caring* You can find us and subscribe on Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Itunes, and Google Play and TuneIN. Leave us a review and Follow us on the Twitter @tnupodcast, Instagram @Tnupodcast, or on Facebook The New Utah Podcast

Music By: Folk Hogan. Bootleggers Dance.

Infamous Utah: Butch Cassidy

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Welcome to our new monthly segment of infamous, or famous, Utah Criminals!

We thought we would start with an oldie but a goodie. Your knowledge of Butch Cassidy may come from the Robert Redford/Paul Newman feature, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid from 1969, but hopefully we can add some new tidbits for you.

Born in good old Beaver, Utah in 1866 by the given name of Robert Leroy Parker he was the oldest of 13. His grandparents and parents were Mormon Pioneers from England that moved across the plains to help build communities in Utah. Robert moved with his family to the small town of Circleville, Utah *outside Bryce Canyon* when he was just 13 in 1879.

Photo: History Channel

His career as a thief started young, but he had good intentions. Stealing a pair of overalls while the local store was closed, he left a note saying he would be paying the owner back, however the owner didn’t like that and he got authorities involved. Robert ended up being let off, however it left a sour taste in his mouth going forward. Robert moved to Wyoming and worked as a butcher, which is where he is said to have gotten his name “Butch” from. The last name “Cassidy” may have come from a rustler that mentored him by the name of Mike Cassidy.

On June 24, 1889 Cassidy pulled off his first bank robbery, when he and several companions made a break with more than $20,000 from the San Miguel Valley Bank in Telluride, Colorado.  As a horse thief and rustler, he was known as the “Robin Hood of the West.” As an outlaw fighting for settler rights, the horses he was stealing were generally part of cattle barons and Cassidy wanted to make sure that ranchers were getting their land and animals back. Butch Cassidy is said to be a non-violent outlaw and it’s rumored he was that way because of his Mormon upbringing. His co-horts however were not as nice.

Butch Cassidy joined a band of outlaws called the “Wild Bunch.” This group of men included his best friend, William Ellsworth “Elzy” Lay, and the famous Sundance Kid, Harry Alonzo Longabaugh. Also in the group was, Harvey Logan, alias Kid Curry; Ben Kilpatrick, the Tall Texan; and Harry Tracy.


The Wild Bunch in 1901, with Henry Longabaugh (Sundance Kid) sitting far left and Robert LeRoy Parker (Butch Cassidy) sitting far right. (Credit: The Print Collection/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Some of their most famous robberies include the Montpelier Bank in Montpelier, Idaho where they walked away, literally, with $7,165. The only hold up in Utah, at the Pleasant Valley Coal Company in Castle Gate, in the amount of $8,800. This group of outlaws is still known for the longest sequence of successful train and bank robberies. Some of their train robberies include; Overland Flyer train near Wilcox, Wyoming on June 2, 1899 and made off with $60,000. Next was a Rio Grande train near Folsom, New Mexico on July 11, 1899. This was the grandest prize that they made off with in the amount of $70,000. Next up would be the Union Pacific train at Tipton, Wyoming on August 29, 1900. That robbery was a grand total of $55,000. However, this time they were identified by passengers on the train On September 9, 1900, they stole $32,640 from a bank in Winnemucca, Nevada. The last holdup by the Wild Bunch was a $65,000 robbery of the Northern Pacific Train on July 3, 1901 near Wagner, Montana. After that, the Wild Bunch dispersed. 

After everyone went their ways, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid headed to England and then to South America where they set up some ranches and continued their robberies. It is after this that the story becomes sketchy. However, because of Butch Cassidy’s large family, his youngest sister; Lula Betenson was still alive up until the 1980’s and wrote a book about him called, “Butch Cassidy, My Brother.” She said that he didn’t die in Boliva. It is said he moved to Washington State under the name William Phillips. To this day, no one knows where his remains are and what happened really happened to Butch Cassidy.

You can still visit his home in Circleville, Utah. You can also take some hikes that the Grand Canyon Trust has mapped out of the hideouts of the Wild Bunch!

Cassidy wrote: ‘The best way to hurt them is through their pocket book. They will Holler louder than if you cut off both legs. I steal their money just to hear them holler. Then I pass it out among those who really need it.’

Check out some of these resources for more information on Butch Cassidy: CirclevilleUtah.Org. History Channel.com. Bear Lake.Org. Utah.com. GrandCanyonTrust.Org. and Ksl.com.

Music By: Folk Hogan; Bootleggers Dance