SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, March 27, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Richard Christopher, convicted in January of the cold-case 2014 murders of three Utah men, was sentenced Wednesday by a Third District Court judge.
Christopher was sentenced to a prison term of 56 years to life. The men killed were Danny “Kiko” Gallegos, 35, Levi Collins, 34, and Braden Emerson, 23,
“A witness told police that Mr. Gallegos was planning to meet him on Nov. 1, 2014, to give him $200,000 cash so the witness could purchase a home for Mr. Gallegos,” says a statement issued Wednesday by the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office. “The defendant was at the prearranged location with the witness. The witness said when the men arrived for the cash, Mr. Gallegos got out of his vehicle, and the defendant got into it a short time later.
“When the defendant got into the car, he asked Mr. Collins and Mr. Emerson to take him to a nearby RV. When they arrived at the defendant’s destination he shot and killed them. Mr. Christopher and the witness then cremated the bodies at a Utah County cremation typically used for large animals.”
Christopher was sentenced to:
- Two consecutive terms of 25 years to life for both first-degree felony aggravated murders
- A consecutive term of 5 years to life for one count of first-degree aggravated robbery
- One to 15 years for one count of second-degree felony obstructing justice
- Zero to 5 years, running concurrently, for three counts of third-degree felony abuse or desecration of a human body
- And credit for time served for one count of third-degree felony use of a firearm by a restricted person
“These murders were predatory, violent, and unconscionable,” SLCo District Attorney Sim Gill said in the released statement. “The brutality of these murders was driven by greed and executed with callousness. Hopefully with today’s resolution, this defendant will likely never see another day of freedom.
“Our office worked with the families for nearly a decade as the investigation and case progressed. I want to thank our team of prosecutors, Marc Mathis, Shantell Argyle, and John Ham, along with our support staff, for tirelessly working on this case. Our team and our law enforcement partners never gave up so that one day some measure of justice could be found for these families and our community.”
