DUCHESNE, Utah, Aug. 3, 2017 (Gephardt daily) — A man is dead and his girlfriend is in custody following a Wednesday night shooting in Duchesne.
Guy Wells Mecham, 51, was found dead inside a residence, at 683 E. 300 North, at about 9:40 p.m., according to information from Duchesne County Sheriff David Boren.
Mecham shared the house with his girlfriend, 41-year-old Stephanie Dawn Payan, and her teenage daughter, the sheriff said.
Mecham and Payan, who moved to Duchesne from Heber City about four months ago, had argued Wednesday afternoon at the home they shared, and Mecham left the home for several hours following the argument, Boren said.
During Mecham’s absence, Payan gave her teenage daughter her credit card and some cash, telling the girl “you’re going to need this,” according to investigators. They said the girl and her mother also talked about the future of Payan and Mecham’s relationship.
Mecham returned to the house “four or five hours later,” Payan told investigators. He walked back to the master bedroom where Payan and her daughter were sitting. The couple argued again and Mecham told Payan he was leaving her, detectives were told.
When Mecham walked out of the master bedroom, Payan retrieved a handgun, followed Mecham down the hall and shot him once in the back, the news release from Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office stated.
Mecham made it back to the bedroom despite the wound and handed his cellphone to Payan’s daughter, asking her to call 911, the girl told investigators. Payan allegedly took the phone from the girl, preventing her from calling for help.
Payan told the girl to pack her belongings and called the girl’s father, telling him he needed to come get their daughter because she had just shot Mecham, investigators said.
The girl’s father urged Payan to call 911, then hung up and called 911 himself to report the shooting. The man knows where the house is, but does not know the address, so he called Payan back and again urged her to call 911, detectives said.
Payan called 911, telling dispatchers she shot Mecham and he might be dead. The first deputy to arrive at the home found Payan sitting in a vehicle outside, her daughter in her bedroom inside the home, and Mecham dead in the doorway of the master bedroom, Boren said.
He said Payan’s daughter was interviewed by detectives and then released to her father.
Payan has been booked into the Duchesne County Jail for investigation of murder, domestic violence in the presence of a minor, and interruption of a communication device. Duchesne County prosecutors are expected to file formal charges Thursday in 8th District Court.
