SPRINGVILLE, Utah, May 23, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — A Springville shooting that killed a 42-year-old man may have been sparked by a former neighbor’s concerns over a custody battle that did not involve him, court documents reveal.
Springville police responded to a call of a shooting at 6:51 p.m. Saturday.
“When police arrived, a male was found deceased, on the front porch, from multiple gunshot wounds,” says a probable cause statement filed by an officer of the Springville Police Department.
“Witnesses reported seeing a white male, in his 20s to 30s, with a big belly, wearing a green shirt and glasses, leaving the scene,” the statement says, noting neighbors’ doorbell cameras recorded a white Toyota Corolla leaving the scene.
As the reporting officer returned to the police station, “dispatch advised a male was in the lobby stating he may have possible information that may be beneficial.”
The man identified himself as Hunter Ryan Lamoreaux, 25, of Orem.
“Hunter matched the description given by witnesses as the male leaving the scene. He also stated he had been working for Door Dash tonight and was driving a white, Toyota Corolla,” Lamoreaux’s probable cause statement says.
“Post Miranda, Hunter admitted the victim was an acquaintance of his. Hunter was upset regarding a pending divorce and custody battle between the victim and his estranged wife. Hunter stated he did not feel the victim deserved custody of his children, and that he had decided, approximately two months prior, that the victim needed to die.”
Lamoreaux admitted “he drove to the victim’s residence and shot him in the entryway of his residence,” the Springville officer’s statement says. “He then placed the weapon he used in a trailer in the victim’s driveway and drove to the police station. A pistol was retrieved from a trailer at the crime scene.”
Lamoreaux was booked into the Utah County jail on charges of murder and felony discharge of a firearm, both first-degree felonies. He is being held without bail.
Police have not released the name of the murder victim, reportedly at the request of his family.
The shooting is unrelated to an attempted murder and suicide a day earlier involving teenagers Masao Kaanga, 19, who shot Lily Conroy, 17, who was his former girlfriend, before turning the gun on himself.
Kaanga was found dead at the scene. Conroy was mortally wounded, but her body has been kept on life support so her family could donate her organs to a few local patients in need.
