1984 Lafferty case still haunts

"He's the one who let her down," says Brenda's oldest sister, Betty McEntire. "He should have taken care of her that day. I have a hard time not thinking he knew something."

Of the six boys and two girls in the Lafferty family, only one brother and a sister have reached out to Brenda's family. Some of Ron's sons have also apologized for what their father did.

Ron does not talk to the press. He is angry, Dan says, waiting for another chance to kill his brother. When Ron appears in court, he spews expletives at the judge. At his 1996 retrial he wore a sign that read "Exit Only" on the seat of his pants to ward off evil spirits he believed wanted to enter his body through his anus.

The ongoing appeals and court proceedings that have delayed Ron's execution have been agonizing for Brenda's family, McEntire says, forcing them to relive her brutal death. In 1991, a federal appeals court ruled Ron's original trial judge failed to adequately address his mental competency. Ron was again found guilty of murder and sentenced to die in 1996. It is a sentence his attorneys are fighting, but most everyone agrees he will be executed.

"Why can't this be done with? There's a lot of anger that his sentence hasn't been carried out," McEntire says. "We're constantly reminded that they're still there, at a great cost to the taxpayers. Not only do you lose somebody, but you continue to lose them every time it comes up in court.

"I just hope people remember who Brenda was. She was such a fun person with a lot of energy and personality," McEntire says. "She hasn't been forgotten."

One day, she hopes, it will be Ron and Dan Lafferty who are forgotten. For now, they sit in the Utah State Prison, one awaiting execution by firing squad, the other waiting for the prison walls to come crumbling down.

"You could say I'm patiently waiting to see if I'm Elijah," Dan says, the shackles tight around his wrists. "I could be wrong, maybe it's all just a comfortable illusion."

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