LINCOLN COUNTY, Wyoming, June 28, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Authorities have charged a Utah father and son with two counts of first degree murder in the death of Utah Transit Authority worker Kay Ricks.
Flint Wayne Harrison, 51, and Dereck James Harrison, 22, were charged Tuesday with two counts of murder, one count of kidnapping and one count of wrongful taking or disposing of property in the death of Ricks, 63.
Authorities in Lincoln County, Wyoming, made the announcement in a 1 p.m. press conference Tuesday.
Lincoln County Attorney Spencer Allred said Ricks’ cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and facial area. Allred said authorities have recovered an item that is consistent with injuries on Ricks’ body, adding that he could not go into more detail at this time.
Allred said investigators believed Ricks was taken by force from Utah, and driven directly to Wyoming, where he was killed. Allred said Ricks died at the scene where his body was found. Ricks’ body was discovered in a remote area outside Kemmerer May 17.
Allred also said he could not comment on sentencing matters at this time. The charges are death-penalty eligible, but the Allred would not say whether he’ll seek it.
The chain of events began to unfold May 10 in Centerville, when police say the Harrisons lured a woman and her four teenage daughters to a residence by telling them they were invited to a barbecue. The five were taken to the house’s basement and tied with plastic cuff restraints.
While one or both of the suspects were beating the mother with a baseball bat, the daughters escaped, followed by their mother. A daughter called 911, and the suspects fled.
“On May 10 we got a frantic 911 call,” Centerville Police Chief Paul Child said. “Since then, resources and hours of investigation work have been given to his and related cases.”
UTA Kay Porter Ricks disappeared from his maintenance route within the next few hours, as did the UTA truck he was driving.
The body of Ricks was found May 17 in a rural area about 16 miles south of Kemmerer, Wyoming.
Flint Harrison turned himself in to Sublette County, Wyoming, Sheriff’s Department officials on Saturday, May 14, and provided information that led officials to son D.J.
The UTA truck Ricks had been driving, caught on surveillance at a Wyoming Chevron station, was found May 19 in an aerial search of the Half Moon Lake area.
Centerville Police Lt. Von Steenblik told reporters that same day that although a murder investigation may seem more serious than a kidnapping case, authorities agreed it made sense for Centerville to extradite the Harrisons and book them into the Davis County Jail.
CPD warrants had been issued for the two men, and it would save investigators in the homicide case from rushing to file charges, and allow them to focus on evidence collection.
