TOOELE, Utah, Jan. 27, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — A 16-year-old Grantsville boy, accused of shooting and killing his mother and three younger siblings, appeared in Tooele’s 3rd District Court on Monday.
It was the initial court appearance for Colin Jeffery “CJ” Haynie, who has been charged as an adult in the Friday, Jan. 17, shooting deaths and the attempted murder of his father, who was shot but survived.
Haynie is facing four counts of aggravated murder, one count of attempted aggravated murder, and five counts of discharge of a firearm, all first-degree felonies.
Judge Dianna Gibson ordered Haynie to remain in juvenile detention and said a public defender would be appointed to represent him.
Veteran defense attorney Richard Van Wagoner represented Haynie in court Monday, but it isn’t known if a different attorney will be chosen from the indigent defense fund list, which provides attorneys for defendants who cannot afford one. Van Wagoner said he would apply to be put on the list.
The teen’s bail was set at $4 million — $1 million for each victim. His next court date is Feb. 4.
His father, Colin Haynie, and older brother, Danny Haynie, who attends Utah Valley University and was at school on the day of the murders, were in the courtroom Monday but made no comment.
If “CJ” Haynie is convicted on the first-degree felony charges, he will face a sentence of at least 25 years to life in prison.
Tooele County Attorney Scott Broadhead, in announcing the charges earlier, said the killings did not appear to be a case of “I snapped.”
Prosecutors say the teen stayed home from school Jan. 17, and waited for his family members to come home, shooting and killing his mother and a sister shortly after 1 p.m., and then methodically shooting the others as they arrived throughout the afternoon.
His father was the last to come home. He sustained a gunshot wound in the leg, but managed to wrestle the gun away from his son.
According to a probable cause statement in the case, the younger Haynie told his father that it was his intention “to kill everyone in the house except himself.”
A female neighbor, who happened to stop by the home to return some keys, notified police and drove the elder Haynie and his son to a hospital. Police arrived at the hospital and took “CJ” into custody. The teen reportedly did not resist arrest, but was uncooperative and refused to talk with the officers.
A funeral service was held Friday in Grantsville for Haynie’s mother, Alejandra Haynie, 52; sisters Alexis Haynie, 15, and Milan Haynie, 12; and brother Matthew Haynie, 14.
Friends and neighbors from the close-knit Grantsville community, as well as people from other areas, attended the service to show support and give some comfort to the surviving members of the Haynie family.
