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Show Tuttle awaits sentencing after jury brings back guilty verdict by Christopher Smart The sentencing date for Wesley Allen Tuttle, the convicted Summit Park off-ramp slayer, will be announced announc-ed by Third District Court Judge Phillip Fishier May 7. After final arguments in the sentencing phase of the trial Friday, Fishier told the prosecution and the defense that it would take time for him to reach a decision on whether Tuttle should be given a sentence of death or life in prison. "There is one person here who will-make will-make that decision," Fishier said. "That person wants to be sure beyond a reasonable doubt." Tuttle was found guilty of first degree murder on April 25 at 7 :30 p.m. for the stabbing death of 21-year-old Sydney Ann Merrick of Salt Lake City. The jury deliberated for approximately four hours before bringing back the unanimous guilty verdict. According to two Summit County residents impanelled on that jury, Tuttle is the only person who could have committed the crime. Robert Swenson, who acted as jury foreman, and Sharon Gramme agreed that the evidence brought forth at the trial put Tuttle at the scene when the murder occurred. Both Swenson and Gramme said that when the jury began deliberation a vote revealed that five of the twelve jurors believed that Tuttle was not guilty or they could not find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Each juror took a turn describing his or her feelings on the case and the evidence, Swenson said. By the time everyone had taken a turn it became clear what the verdict had to be, he said. "It's like going into a room and having 12 people put together a jigsaw puzzle," Swenson said. Swenson and Gramme both said that a number of positive eye witness identifications of Tuttle and the truck he was driving made a significant impact on the outcome of the trial. Both jurors also said that telephone records showed Tuttle to be lying about the time that he arrived at the murder scene. During the trial, Tuttle told the jury that he arrived at the Summit at 2:05 p.m. on Sept. 26. According to his story, he fell asleep in his truck for about twenty minutes. Upon awakening awaken-ing he discovered the bloody body of Merrick in her late model white Datsun parked behind his truck. Tuttle testified that he panicked and ran from the scene. Gramme said that Mountain Bell records, which showed Tuttle in American Fork at 1 :34 p.m. on the day of the murder, played a large role in her decision. According to evidence introduced by the prosecution, Gramme said that Tuttle would have to Tuttle to A9 4 h. i Turtle from' A11 drive 94 miles an hour to arrive at the scene at 2:05 p.m. , "He (Tuttle) lied. He changed his story about seven times," Gramme said referring to Tuttle's testimony compared to what other witnesses said Tuttle told them. The testimony of eyewitness Matthew Mat-thew Fish was the most damaging evidence to Tuttle's defense, Gramme said. Fish testified that he saw Tuttle towing Merrick's car up Parley s Canyon and again at the Summit at the time of the murder, which is believed to be about 2:30 p.m. Summit County Assistant District Attorney Terry Christiansen argued for the death penalty for Tuttle. Christiansen Christian-sen described Merrick's brutal death as one of numerous stab wounds including a "multiple thrust" wound to the heart and a slashed throat. Utah statute calls for the death penalty, (jnristiansen said, "by nature of the crime and the manner it was committed." Defense attorney Kenneth R. Brown, on the other hand, gave examples of murders where the death penalty was not imposed. He further argued that Tuttle's life would be of value to his wife and children even if he was imprisoned for life. "Can the court conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that his case deserves the death penalty?" Brown asked. |