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Show Free Press Wednesday, April 3, Page City looks Police investigate family fight at resolving booked into the Lehi man Utah County Jail on several ditch problem charges, which started with under the influence of Trial Update: Dan says he, not Lafferty I i T out carried rum, Killings 1 By PAM SHEPHERD and MARC HADDOCK Dan Lafferty confessed Tuesday to killing his sister-inJaBrenda, and her daughter on July 24, 1984 in American Fork. In matter-of-fatones, the younger Lafferty told jurors considering the guilt of his brother, Ron, that while Ron had received a revelation calling for the "removal" of Brenda and Erica Lafferty, Dan carried out the. killings, slitting the throats of the baby and then her twice, but he was pushed away by a force. Dan then carried out the slaying. He exhibited no remorse for the act, telling the court, "I felt I was just taking care of any form of business." Dan's testimony is the first time any defense has been given in court for the 1984 slayings for which he and his brother were convicted of murder in separate trials 11 years ago. Dan is currently serving a life sentence at the Utah State Prison. Ron was sentenced to death, but his trial was thrown out when the courts determined that the wrong standard had been used to determine if he was competent to assist in his own defense at the time of the unconscious mother. Ron was the voice of God, Dan Lafferty maintain, but he was God's arm. Lafferty also testified that he believed Brenda and Erica Lafferty were "daughters of perdition," and that since the murders he has come to the conclusion that the revelation was not from God. In his chilling testimony, Dan told how he and his brother beat their sister in law senseless. He testified he was led to baby Erica's crib "by revelation," talked to the child and then looked away while he used a hunting knife to cut her throat. He left the room without looking at the baby. Dan said Ron tried to carry out the "removal" sentence on Brenda trial. In the original trials, each brother represented themselves, with help d from defenders. However, neither attempted to present a defense at the time. Ron's retrial started last week as the state laid out the case for his guilt, highlighted by the testimony of Charles "Chip" Cames, who along with Ricky Knapp, was waiting outside Brenda and Allan Lafferty's home in Ron's station wagon while the brothers carried out the killings. Monday afternoon, attorney Mike court-assigne- A Esplin began his defense, explaining that "Ron Lafferty killed no one," and painting Lafferty as a pretty much a mainstream guy" until he fell under the spell of his brother, Dan's, extreme religious beliefs in 1982. Monday, Dan talked about his life of religious extremism and Mormon fundamentalist beliefs that governed much of his life. He described his life in an Orem farm he called "La Mancha," where he lived without electricity or gas and where he kept his family isolated from mainstream society. Lafferty said he permitted his wife to wear only dresses, would not allow his children to speak to other people over the fence, and delivered his five children himself.. He also described a disagreement with government as a licensing agency and told about operating business outside of tax and registration laws while seeking constant guidance from the Lord for every decision in his life. His testimony was peppered with profanity at times, as he also became emotional when discussing what he felt was a very close relationship with God. Continued from front page expertise to," he said. "I think the wait is worth it. Then the decision should be made." Comer said she "appreciated Reed's point" but said implementing an administrator would take up to six months, then additional time until "they were up to speed." Finally, a woman in the audience, who later identified herself as Patricia Anderson of Lehi, said that she uses ADP to complete payroll for about 160 employees in "a couple of hours." "It does just about anything I could come across," she said, after stating that she did not know Carroll. "I've looked at other proposals, but we've always come back the library," said Russon. "The city's been handling payroll without significant problems in the past. If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Russon also expressed concerns about losing the "personal touch" with the employees, and brought up questions about who would arbitrate questions for employees. Carroll said that ADP offers a e number for calls from employees. If someone is not available immediately to take the call, it's logged and a timer starts; if, after 30 minutes the call is still a supervisor is unanswered, flagged to return the call. "Dee Ray, I loved your statement that 'if it ain't broke don't fix it.' If someone had said that to Henry Ford, we'd still be driving Model Ts," said Comer. "We've got to move into the 21st century." Fox added that Lehi City would not "just receive the paychecks in the mail. It's a very good management tool for the city," he said. Sunderland pointed out the benefits of waiting until the new city administrator was hired before making such a decision. "This is one area I think the administrator should put his toll-fre- to ADP." City Recorder Evelyn Yates, who has been doing the payroll, said she had concerns about the updates to the city's general ledger, which are integrated within the Caselle system. Cam Gunter, finance specialist for the city, said that using ADP would bring benefits to both the city and the employees. The city will be able to use staff members for data entry, freeing higher-paidepartment heads for other, more productive work. The d data is sent by computer modem to ADP, which automatically downloads the information back to Lehi City after the payroll is processed. Employees will benefit from being able to divide their paychecks into as many as five different accounts at different institutions, with the added convenience of direct deposit, a service not cur- rently available with Caselle, except at an added cost of about one-tim- fee). e Gunter also said that he would not have recommended the switch had ADP not offered a 10 percent discount on services for the first year, as well as offering the initial installation of the software at half the usual $400 rate. "I told him we weren't doing it unless he went down on some of the prices," said Gunter. In addition, the letter he drafted authorizing the stipulated that Lehi City would not be obligated to remain with ADP and could discontinue services at anytime 'without penalty, except for installation. the "Why wait?," said Gunter. "We're budget driven. It's better to know where you're at so you can plan." During the questioning at the station, the officer discovered the man's real identity, which he had not given because he knew he had an outstanding $2,570 warrant out of American Fork for possession and distribution of a controlled substance. The man said his wallet had been lost or stolen and could produce no identification; he also gave a false Social Security number. Included in the man's additional criminal history will be charges of DUI, driving on revocation for alcohol, giving false information, no proof of insurance, no registration in the vehicle, seatbelt violation, and of course, the warrant. A female passenger in the vehicle, who had been released and transported to her Lehi home, was cited for obstructing justice. An officer was dispatched to a Lehi residence to investigate the complain of a woman against her brother, who had allegedly assaulted the siblings' mother. When the officer responded to the Orem residence of the man, he said he thought he was a victim, too, having been slapped in the face and kicked in the groin by his mother. The man was cited for assault on the mother, who had scratch marks on both arms; the woman was also cited for assault for her part in the altercation. A snowmobile trailer valued at $450 was stolen from the site where it had been displayed for sale. Although the trailer had several identifying markings on it, neither the trailer nor suspects have yet been located. While an Orem man was stopped at a local convenience store to get a drink and use the facilities, his truck was stolen. The truck was located the next day when an officer spotted it off a county road lying in a ditch. Audio equipment, business checks and cs - 3 Police Beat alcohol. ving The investigating officer stopped the vehicle for expired registration and detected an odor of alcohol coming from both the vehicle, and later, from the person. A Lehi woman sits on the edge and waits, either for her house to fall into the nearby ditch or for Lehi City to assume responsibility for the waterway that is eroding all around her. "Have you decided what you're going to do and when?" Elma Gelding's daughter recently asked the Lehi City Council on her behalf. "Her back yard is practically falling apart and her home is going to fall into the creek." She explained that each spring has brought high water runoff and the area continues to erode "quite rapidly." The ditch was cemented on two sides in 1986, but lack of funding stopped the project; Mrs. Golding was told that the city had no funds to complete the project. "As I remember right, we got a government grant," said former Mayor George Tripp, whom the council asked for advice during the presentation. "We cementer the channel part way. We went as far as the money went." He explained that the small bridges restricted the flow of water during the 1983 flooding period, and the grant allowed them to install bigger bridges." "We certainly don't want you to fall into the creek," exclaimed Councilmember Frances Comer, who suggested that the city engineers look into the situation and provide the council with an estimate of costs for the steps necessary to correct the problem. "Is there access for equipment to reach this without a lot of damage to the property?" asked Councilmember Reed Sunderland; Mrs. Golding said that neighbor Bert Wilson had given his permission to allow access to the area from his property. At the March 26 meeting of the City Council, Sunderland reported that there was approximately 52 feet that needed repair. "We need to do something," he told the other councilmembers. "That six foot canal there is a g $1,000 (a was dri- oADP for parks, for curb and gutter, for 1996 - some cash, with a combined value of about $50, were never recovered. A Lehi man reported the theft of his "92 Pontiac Grand Prix, valued at $11,500, which was taken from a commuter paiking lot. The case is still under investigation. Unknown suspects broke into a utility trailer at a construction site and stole $2,500 worth of various power tools and audio equipment. No footprints were lifted at the scene, but the case is still under investigation. At another construction site, lumber valued at $75 was stolen; although one of the workers reported seeing a "suspicious person" at the site, no suspects are available. An Orem woman reported that her son, a Lehi resident, had forged a counter check in the amount of $225 at a local bank. Having the same name as his father, junior cashed the check using his own identification; the mother, however, recognized the signature as her son's. ISSN No. 8750-466U.S.P.S. 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