Logan man dead after being beaten in wake of alleged sexual assault police say didn’t happen

File photo: Gephardt Daily

LOGAN, Utah, May 7, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Police in Logan are investigating the death of a 62-year-old man after a 16-year-old girl accused him of sexually assaulting her.

Michael Andrew Fife was physically assaulted on the afternoon of April 23 by the brother of the teenage girl after she reported that Fife had sexually assaulted her, a news release from Logan City Police Department said. The sexual assault allegedly took place on the Cache Valley Transit District bus.

According to the news release, the girl “immediately called her 17-year-old brother and told him of the sexual assault.”

Police say the girl’s brother located Fife getting off the bus near 300 South and 100 West.

“The brother ran towards Mr. Fife and assaulted him. Mr. Fife fell to the sidewalk and suffered head injuries,” the news release states. “Mr. Fife was left unconscious, lying on the sidewalk, while his assailant fled the scene on foot.”

Police and paramedics were called by witnesses, and Fife was transported to the Logan Hospital. He was then transferred to McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden.

The teen girl called police at 6:15 p.m. the same day and reported the sexual assault on the bus.

According to the news release, when detectives viewed video footage of the alleged sexual assault, “The video showed Mr. Fife walking past the girl, but no sexual assault occurred.”

Fife died of his injuries early on the morning of April 27.

Michael Andrew Fife Photo GoFundMe

Police are not releasing any further details and are not identifying the juveniles involved in the case at this time. The incident is still under investigation, and Logan Police Department will be consulting with the Cache County Attorney’s Office.

A GoFundMe account has been established to help the family pay for medical and funeral expenses for Michael Fife. To view the GoFundMe page, click here.

Gephardt Daily will update this story as more information is made available.

2 COMMENTS

  1. As a concerned citizen of Cache County, it was disturbing to read the following article on Gephardt Daily on May 7th. It is most troubling indeed.
    “Logan man dead after being beaten in wake of alleged sexual assault police say didn’t happen
    “By Gephardt Daily Staff – May 7, 2019
    “LOGAN, Utah, May 7, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Police in Logan are investigating the death of a 62-year-old man after a 16-year-old girl accused him of sexually assaulting her.
    “Michael Andrew Fife was physically assaulted on the afternoon of April 23 by the brother of the teenage girl after she reported that Fife had sexually assaulted her, a news release from Logan City Police Department said. The sexual assault allegedly took place on the Cache Valley Transit District bus.
    “According to the news release, the girl ‘immediately called her 17-year-old brother and told him of the sexual assault.’
    “Police say the girl’s brother located Fife getting off the bus near 300 South and 100 West.
    “’The brother ran towards Mr. Fife and assaulted him. Mr. Fife fell to the sidewalk and suffered head injuries,’ the news release states. ‘Mr. Fife was left unconscious, lying on the sidewalk, while his assailant fled the scene on foot.’
    “Police and paramedics were called by witnesses, and Fife was transported to the Logan Hospital. He was then transferred to McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden.
    “The teen girl called police at 6:15 p.m. the same day and reported the sexual assault on the bus.
    “According to the news release, when detectives viewed video footage of the alleged sexual assault, ‘The video showed Mr. Fife walking past the girl, but no sexual assault occurred.’
    “Fife died of his injuries early on the morning of April 27.
    “Police are not releasing any further details and are not identifying the juveniles involved in the case at this time. The incident is still under investigation, and Logan Police Department will be consulting with the Cache County Attorney’s Office.”
    The incident, an intentional assault, took place in broad daylight on April 23, 2019 in front of Logan High School, which is located approximately 1 mile from the transit center where the alleged ‘non-sexual assault’ occurred and leaves a lot of unanswered questions.
    “According to the news release, the girl ‘immediately called her 17-year-old brother and told him of the sexual assault.’ Police say the girl’s brother located Fife getting off the bus near 300 South and 100 West,” near Logan High School. Minutes following the 16 year old alleged assault victim’s phone call to her 17 year old brother, who finds the murder victim getting off the bus near Logan High School? How would the 17 year old assailant know where the murder victim would be? This alone raises questions as to whether or not the murder victim, Michael fife, was actually targeted in a premeditated assault?
    Michael Fife, who is known to a few members of the community as a kind and gentle soul, was a homeless veteran with no known conflicts in the community. In fact, it was also disturbing to learn that no public notice of the assault was published until May 7th after concerned citizens began raising questions of the local newspaper and police about the assault and subsequent death of Michael Fife on April 27th. It was even more disturbing to learn of the sexual assault allegation, which had not been expressed or verbalized prior to the May 7th news articles.
    Even the police report states, the 16 year old did not make a report of the alleged sexual assault until 6:15 pm almost 3 hours following the physical assault of Michael Fife. Was the alleged sexual assault claim made as an attempt to give an excuse to the “beat-down” by an outraged brother? Or worse yet, did someone coach the 16 year old into making the alleged claim?
    So, who exactly are the two adolescences involved in this wrongful death? What connections do they have to influence within the community and are they being shielded from their illegal activities? We do not know as their names have not been released. The discomfort left behind in this community rings a bold reminiscence to the victimization and shooting of Deserae Turner back in February of 2017 by two Cache Valley teens, who were tried and convicted of their crimes as adults.
    The question remains as to why the sexual assault claim was made? Especially when there is absolutely no evidence to support that allegation. Quiet Cache Valley seems to have a tale of two images, one as a happy valley of good church going families and the other as the worst abhorrent conclaves of sexual misfits in the state. A simple review of the news will show that per capita Cache County has the highest claims of sexual assaults more that any other of the 29 counties in the state of Utah.
    In short, something doesn’t add up in this story as well as many others that have allegations of sexual assault.
    It’s time that we wake up to the awfulness of our present situation.

    • Hello there.

      I genuinely doubt that anyone will wake up and I also don’t think that the 16 years old girl, or her brother will face any consequences. There are many situations like this going around the world and most of the times the people behind everything get away with it, especially when they falsely accuse someone of sexual assault.

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