SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, April 25, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Third District Court Judge James Blanch on Monday sentenced Darwin Christopher Bagshaw to 15 years to life in prison for the 2012 murder of 15-year-old Anne Kasprzak.
Bagshaw pleaded guilty to the murder in February after admitting he lured Kasprzak to an isolated area near the Jordan River on March 10, 2012, and crushed her skull and broke multiple bones in her face with a shovel. Her body was found in the river but Bagshaw denied dumping her body in the water.
The killing occurred after an argument between the two when Kasprzak told Bagshaw, her boyfriend, that she was pregnant with his child.
She also had left a note for her parents on the night she disappeared saying she was going to run away with Bagshaw to California.
Pregnancy tests taken before Kasprzak was killed, as well as the state autopsy, confirmed she was not pregnant.
As for the maturity level of Bagshaw, who was 14 when he killed Kasprzak and is now 18, outside of mild marijuana and alcohol use, the teen did not have significant mental health disorders or anger issues, or a learning disability.
Because of this, he was ordered to stand trial as an adult.
Defense attorneys said psychologists did not believe Bagshaw was a high risk to re-offend, and he has not had any behavioral problems while being incarcerated for six months.
If Bagshaw had remained in the juvenile court system, he would have only been kept in custody until he was 21, if convicted.
