Show Kwmnsnnz 'o Serving Utah’s Great Pahvant Valley Delta Utah $2000 out ot county 6 in nonths $1300 Senior Citizens Copy 50c (In Advance) (65 and older) $8 00 in county $20 00 out of ISPS County Vol 80 No 13 September 28 1989 by Ken Rand George Wesley Hamilton has been found guilty of murder in the August 1985 mutilation slaying of Sharon Sant of Fillmore 3 i fi Metos George Wesley Hamilton Judge George by Bonnie Ellis courtesy of the Provo Herald E Ballif Photo Brush Wellman celebrates 20 years The Delta mill and mine of Brush Wellman Engineering Materials celebrated 20 years of operation with an open house and dinner Saturday Sept 23 About 375 people took advanof the open house at the mill 18 miles north of Delta Tours were provided in the afternoon officials About 200 company tage guests employees and their spouses attended a dinner at the IPP community center Several local and regional government A dance folofficials attended lowed the dinner in the gym with decorations provided by Delta High School There were 112 mill and mine listed in the evening’s plus eight retired Twenty-fouemployees have been employees program i with more the company 20 years or In alltheemployee’srepre-sen- t over 1300 years of experi- ence The mill and mine have gone about four years without a single accident a record attributed to the company’s constant emphasis on the health and safety of the workers Dinner speakers included: - Jack Valiquette Plant Manager of the mill “We have as good a group of employees as you’ll see on the face of the earth right here in our group tonight” he said Valiquette has been with the company 37 years He will retire in the spring replaced by Don McMillan - Huge Hanes Vice President and General Manager of the Beryllium Mining Division Hanes presented a $10000 check on his company’s behalf to Great Basin Museum representatives Dorothy Killpack and Charlotte “It’s just our small way Morrison of saying thanks for the contribution that you’ve made to us” he said The money will be used to build a minerals display room at the new museum in Delta D Dr Raymond A Foos Chairman President and Chief ExecuFoos took part in the tive Officer Manhattan Project during World War Two Dr Foos said that the celebration is almost to the day 20 years ago when the first processed beryllium passed through the Delta plant and that Brush has never missed a shipment to a customer He also sited the early days and stated the great cooperation Brush received from the State of Utah and the officials of Millard and Juab Counties Charles Brush III senior member of the Board of Directors Brush gave an of Brush Wellman historical account of the company from the creation of Brush Labs in 1921 to the present Congressman Jim Hansen who sits on the House Armed “I don’t Services Committee know if you realize the contribution you make to keeping this world free” he said “This product that you’ve come up with is something that is absolutely awesome” The only accessable supply of beryllium ore found in the United States is at Topaz Mountain about 50 miles west of the mill Prior to the ore discovery at Topaz Mountain beryllium came most from Brazil in the form of crystals Other known deposits in the crystal form are in China and Russia It is refined at the Delta mill before it is shipped to Brush Ohio plant for further processing Beiyllium is lighter than aluminum and six times stronger than steel It absorbs more heat than copper It is It is used in many consumer applications including the telecommunications electronics optics and automotive industries one of the newest applications being the airbag It is best known for its use in the tiles of the 6pace shuttle Brush Wellman beryllium products were on the Pioneer spacecraft that just passed Neptune on its way to interstellar space percent of the company’s products are used for national defense All beryllium used in products has passed through the Delta operation The mine has a six million ton reserve enough to keep the mill operating for 40 to 50 years ANDERSON GREATHOUSE NATIONAL SCHOLARS by Shawn Bills a school considered to the hinterlands of the Great Basin two scholars emerged as in the National Merit Scholarship Program Kathy Anderson and Alycia Greathouse rank in the same elite category as 78 other Utah students The National Merit F’rogram is used to identify and honor academically gifted high schol students Among the one million plus who take the PSATNMSQT (the test that allows eligibilty for the scholarship) only 15000 are chosen as This fact is quite significant considering that DHS has two seniors qualifying this year compared to such schools as Cottonwood (2 eligible) See Scholar on page 2 be in Sant disappeared August 1 1985 while hitchhiking from Cedar City to her home in Fillmore to attend the funerals of two friends killed in an automobile accident Sant was a 1984 graduate of Millard High School She studied police science at Southern Utah State College She was 19 A college roommate filed a missing person report several days after Sant failed to return On August 16 a Utah Department of Transportation crew found a shallow grave while working near Cove Fort Millard County Sheriffs officers unearthed the torso of a The head both hands woman feet and breasts were missing of the torso matched those taken of Sant earlier in the year W'ith the exception of one breast no other body parts have been found Investigators eventually concluded Hamilton and an associate Robert William Bott had picked up Sant taken her to their house near Parowan where she was raped and murdered The men were arrested Feb 13 1986 The two were originally Botts testicharged together mony became invalid when he told authorities conflicting stories about the murder He first said he knew nothing about it After believing he had been granted immunity he said Hamilton did it The drifter from Montana was released because authorities had no evidence linking him to the murder or the crime scene except for his own statements which Fourth District Court Judge George E Ballif ruled could not be him used against A change of venue took the trial to the Provo Hamilton was found guilty in August 1987 and sentenced to five years to life in the state prison Hamilton appealed It was learned that a juror had brought a newspaper article into the jury room during deliberations The article from the Provo Herald was an interview with Bott in which he said Hamilton killed Sant The court ruled the juror misconduct invalidated the verdict Hamilton was immediately rearrested returned to the Millard County jail from the Draper prison and held for a new trial That trial began Monday Sept 18 with jury selection in Provo A jury heard the case beginning Tuesday morning Ballif repeatedly admonished jurors to avoid the media and to judge the case only on evidence presented in court “I’ve got to really impress upon you the fact that you must not discuss the case” he added No newspapers were allowed in the courtroom at all Millard County Attorney Warren Peterson was assisted in his prosecution of the case by Assistant Attorney General John Soltis Hamilton was defended by Fred Metos who was assisted by Doug Walquist In his opening statement Peterson said the prosecution called the case “the August 1 1985 mutilation murder of Sharon Sant” Peterson said the state would allege that while Hamilton did not act alone he “knowingly and intentionally” was a party to the crime He said Sant was “determined to go to Fillmore” to be at her friends’ funeral and she “made a critical mistake by hitchhiking” Sant did not own a car saw her about 11:45 am August 1 hitchhiking on the of the center northbound in Cedar City interchange of “That was the last time any of her acquaintences saw her” Peterson said “W'e cannot describe for you the fatal blow” Peterson said “but we will show you relevant evidence" Prosecutors called 29 George Wesley Hamilton left with defense attorney Fred Metos Photo by Bonnie Ellis courtesy of the Provo Daily Hearld witnesses and introduced over 100 exhibits Metos called only one defense witness “A murder trial is a very emotional thing” Metos said in his opening statement “Try to avoid that” He said Hamilton had the constitutional right to the presump“You must astion of innocence sume Wes Hamilton is innocent” “The state is obliged to he said change your mind” slate’s case was based on circum- The Sharon Sant evidence and “you cannot him on circumstantial evidence” he said “They don’t have any direct witnesses Our position will be that they simply can’t prove their case” “It is reasonable that Bott killed Sant" Metos said “The evidence will show that Mr Bott is a strange individual” Metos concluded by telling the jury that if his client was found stantial convict “We will ask you to guilty sider con- and the judge may instruct find the lesser charge of manslaughter” UDOT employee Lynn Perkins testified that on the morning of August 16 his crew was cleaning up litter at the Cove Fort exit of He said a “pile of oily sticks and a residue” was found at the end of what later became known as “the drag path” Suspecting he’d found a gravesite Perkins called the Millard County Sheriffs office Capt Robert Dekker in charge of the investigation and a sergeant at the time testified he and Deputy Ross Johnson moved dirt around the grave “layer by layer so as not to disturb any evidence” The body was transported to the state examiners office A wood splitting maul was found near the scene and also sent to the examiner’s you to office Prosecutor’s believe it was used to dismember Sant andtodig her grave Dr Edwin Stevens Sweeney Acting State Medical Examiner at the time testified that he commade of Sant before pared her death with those of the torso to conclude that the body was that of the missing student Sweeney used a medical school anatomical mannequin of a fetorso to show the jury where the hands feet and head had been severed by something “entirely consistent with an instrument such as this ax” male He testified t ie treasts had been removed by a kri'e There was also a single slash in the abdomen from Lelcw the navel to the breastbone The uterus had been removed It too was never found The crime scene was searched for evidence in a five mile radius around the grave Other areas associated with the crime were also later searched Searches were conducted on hands and knees on foot by vehicle by airplane and with dogs Blood stained tree branches dirt and gravel beer cans and a bottle were recovered Deputy Rob Lang testified he used Sioux Bear a German Shepard trained in evidence hunting to search the crime scene August 17 Sioux Bear found a piece of tissue later identified as a human breast Sant’s clothing jewelry and other personal belongings were never found College roommate Cheryl Cox said Sant was determined to get to the funeral of her friends August “No matter how she got there she would get there” Cox said “She said if she couldn’t get a ride she would hitchhike” John Larry Smith chief custodian at the Iron County School District and Sant’s supervisor testified he offered to give Sant money for the bus ‘I told Sharon not to hitchhike” he said “It w as too dangerous” Smith recalled Sant said “I’ve done it before and I can take care of myself She said she’d be back Monday and she’d see us then She never did show back up" a Royce Barton said he and two other men saw Sant hitchhiking on the M5 at about 11:45 am Rita Weatherby who was Hamilton’s girlfriend for u while during the summer of 19hr) testified that Hamilton approached her at the end of Novem ber after they had separated “lie asked me to alibi for him on August first” she said “He said that if anybody asked that I was with him and Vickie (Hamilton’s daughter) at the house on August believed first" asked Hamilton Weatherby the reason for the alibi “Just do it or 111 kill you" she said he responded “He picked up a hitchhiker and took her home" she told the jury Weatherby said Bott also told her to provide an alibi for August in a separate conversation Bott said “Do it or I’ll beat you up” W’eatherby told the jury She testified Bott also said “they’d picked up a hitchhiker and took her home” testified she had W’eatherby earlier told investigators Bott said “If you say anything about this I’ll kill you I’ll just flat out kill you” Weatherby testified she was afraid of Hamilton She said he became violent when he drank “He’d drink quite a bit” she said “He’d get really angry violent temper It was like something inside of him snapped” See Hamilton on page 2 v Jt - - J |