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Show Five to life term in Kirby killing Jon Bryan Monson was sentenced Tuesday in 3rd District Court to , serve from five years to life in prison for tikf&frfatmbiW&TMr. Oakley of a co-worker. Monson pleaded guilty to a reduced reduc-ed charge of second-degree murder last month after Judge J. Dennis Frederick granted a defense motion to reduce the charge from first-degree first-degree murder. Monson admitted killing 22-year-old Phillip W. Kirby, West Valley Ch ty. Kirby's badly decomposed body, ' was found May 5 under a pile of rocks eight miles east of Oakley on a farm owned by the Monument Stake; of the Mormon Church. -MT ' - Monson and Kirby both ; were employed by Wagstaff Toyota in Salt Lake City. Investigators say Monson and Kirby were involved in thefts from their employer. A possible motive, according to investigators, was that Monson wanted to keep Kir Tfcyfjfrom divulging tne thefts to" Wagstaff and police. A first-degree murder charge was brought against Monson based on a section of the Utah Criminal Code, which states murder can be charged in the first degree if the crime was committed for the purpose of blocking block-ing testimony in an official investigation. in-vestigation. First-degree murder "can carry a penalty of death or life imprisonment. ,i But Summit County public ' defender Thomas Quinlan asked the judge to reduce Monson's charge, saying no theft or burglary investigation in-vestigation was being conducted in Salt Lake City or County at the time of the killing. |