SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 11, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Charging documents reveal new details in the case of a 28-year-old man charged in his grandfather’s murder and the arson fire of his residence.
Maxwell Wolcott was booked into jail Saturday for the death of John Peel, 77.
Salt Lake City Fire crews arrived at the residence, at 717 E. Logan Ave., to find the home fully engulfed in flames. But when neighbors told them the home’s lone resident was unaccounted for, crews doused the flames for long enough to mount a dangerous search of the residence
“During the course of extinguishing the flames, fire fighters discovered the deceased body of an elderly adult male,” Wolcott’s probable cause statement says.
“When the victim was rolled over a knife stab wound was observed on the upper chest of the victim.
“Detectives located surveillance video showing the a/p’s (accused person’s) vehicle leaving the area of the victim’s residence.”
Wolcott was located and questioned, the charging document says.
“The a/p admitted he intentionally drove to the residence of the victim with the intention of killing him. The a/p stated he used a knife he brought with him and stabbed the victim in the chest after he forced the front door open. The a/p stated he then left the residence and returned to the victim’s residence a short time later, doused the victim with lighter fluid and ignited the lighter fluid with the intention of destroying evidence.”
- Wolcott was booked into jail on suspicion of:
- Murder, a first-degree felony
- Aggravated arson, a first-degree felony
- Aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony
- Abuse or desecration of a dead human body, a third-degree felony
Wolcott is being held without bail at the Salt Lake County Jail.
Gephardt Daily will have more information on this developing story as news breaks.
