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Show Monson to be arraigned in Oakley killing by DAVE ADLER Record staff writer John Bryan Monson, 22, of Salt Lake City, charged with the murder of a West Valley City man near Oakley, has been bound over to Third District Court, where he will be arraigned June 3, following a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Coalville. Fifth Circuit Judge Frank G. Noel heard evidence at the hearing that Monson shot Phillip Kerby, 22, twice, in the back and chest, with a .44 magnum Sept. 9, 1984, according to Summit County detective Sgt. Robert Berry. Berry said the gun was owned by Monson. Berry testified that Kerby's body was buried in a rockpile on a farm operated by the Monument Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints near the Weber River, eight miles east of Oakley. Berry said his office was informed of the location of the body by Doug Monson, manager of the farm and older brother of the suspect, on May 5. Doug Monson testified at the hearing that on May 5, he saw a pig rooting in the rockpile. He noticed that the pig had unearthed a foot and he promptly called the Summit County Sheriff's office. Later that day, according to Berry, Monson telephoned again to report that for the past three months, an abandoned jeep had been parked on the property, Monson told Berry that his brother, John, had said the jeep belonged to a friend of his "who had gone back east and left the vehicle." Monson also told Berry that his brother had a friend, whom he had not met, that worked with his brother at Wagstaff Toyota, a Salt' Lake automobile dealership. The friend turned out to be Phillip Kerby. After the Summit County Sheriff's Office had identified Kerby through papers in his pants pockets, it learned that the jeep belonged to Kerby. Later that day, Berry learned of a missing persons report filed on Oct. 3, 1984 by Howard Kerby with the West Valley City Police Department. In the report, Kerby stated that his son, Phillip had been missing since Sept. 9, when he last saw him in a doughnut shop. Piecing these factors together, Berry contacted the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office which arrested Monson at his home on May 6 and charged him with first-degree murder. Also testifying at the preliminary hearing were the Utah State medical examiner, Dr. Monique Ryser, and Howard Kerby. Dr. Ryser testified that Kerby died of gunshot wounds from a large caliber revolver. She also said that Kerby's body had lain in the rockpile from "three to 12 months." According to Berry, "there is no scientific way to be more exact that that." Kerby testified that his son had been missing since Sept. 9, 1984. : Berry declined further comment on the evidence, saying he wasn't sure "what we'll do in district court." " Judge Leonard H. Russon will preside at the June 3 arraignment in Third District Court in Coalville. |