LOGAN, Utah, Feb. 1, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — A teenage boy who confessed to shooting a 14-year-old Utah girl in the head and leaving her to die has learned his punishment for the crime.
Colter Peterson was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for attempted murder and 1 to 15 years for robbery. The sentences will run concurrently rather than one after the other, 1st District Court Judge Kevin Allen ruled.
Peterson pleaded guilty in October to attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, and robbery, a second-degree felony.
Peterson and his friend, Jayzon Decker, reportedly arranged to meet Turner after Peterson became annoyed by her sending of Snapchat messages. The boys lured Turner, who was 14, to a muddy canal bed near Smithfield’s Sky View High School on Feb. 17 of 2017.
After abandoning an initial plan involving a knife, Peterson shot the girl with a .22 caliber handgun, and the boys left after stealing some of Turner’s belongings.
Turner was found about eight hours later by a family friend who had been searching. Turner was transported to the hospital, and began her limited recovery. The bullet fired at her is still in her brain, and caused permanent physical and cognitive damage.
Decker, now 17, pleaded guilty late last year to attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, and obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony. His sentencing is scheduled for next Wednesday.
Prosecutors have said that although Decker did not pull the trigger, it was his idea to kill Turner as a way to end her unwanted attention to Peterson.
