Father to stand trial in Amber Alert case

PROVO — A man who took his children to a cliff near Point of the Mountain and told them they were "going to see Jesus" will stand trial on three counts of attempted aggravated murder.

Christopher Wayne Young, 36, will face the three first-degree charges for each of his three children, as well as three second-degree felonies of child abuse, 4th District Court Judge Steven Hansen ruled after a preliminary hearing Monday morning.

On April 18, Young took his three young children, ages 6, 4 and 20 months, from their mother Adella Young, telling her they were going to the park for an hour.

But 10 minutes before they were supposed to be home, Christopher Young called his estranged wife to say they weren't coming back and that if he couldn't have the kids, neither could she.

She testified Monday he told her, "Let's just put it this way — the next time you see the kids it will be in heaven."

Adella Young panicked and called her sister-in-law who called police.

A few hours later — after a police attempt-to-locate, a short Amber Alert, and GPS tracking of Christopher Young's cell phone — police found Young and the children on a flat area up a cliff on the Lehi side of the Point of the Mountain.

But none of these facts is strong enough to merit the first-degree felony charges, said Young's attorney Richard Gale.

"He's guilty of doing harm to the children, but not guilty of attempted aggravated murder," Gale said.

Young never tried to drive off the cliff, Gale said. The car was 30 feet from the edge of a cliff that was actually two smaller drop-offs, and he handed over the car keys when police arrived.

However, Deputy Utah County Attorney Donna Kelly argued that driving off I-15, crashing through a barbed wire fence and driving up part of a mountain was not an accident.

"Mr. Young clearly did believe that his conduct would result in their death, because that's what he told (the kids) over and over," Kelly said. "Jesus wasn't at the point of the mountain. Mr. Young told them they were going to die that night and he believed it."

Lehi police officer Alma Owens found Young and the three children near the side of a cliff and parked his car in front of Young's SUV to act as a barrier. The kids were returned — scared but safe — to their mother that night.

Gale also said his client was emotionally and mentally disturbed because of his crumbling marriage and was trying to get back at his estranged wife — not hurt the children.

A competency review found Young mentally competent to proceed with the case.

Provo Police Det. Dan Dove interviewed Young the night of the incident and said the man told him he had suicidal thoughts — some of which involved the children and driving off the cliff.

Dove said Young told him he had the suicidal thoughts until his 6-year-old son hugged him and said "he wanted to go with him to see Jesus." After that, Young "snapped out of it and realized what he was doing."

"He also told you that he never would have carried it out, and he would have let the children out of the car, didn't he?" Gale asked.

"He did say that, yes." Dove responded.

Young will enter a plea today at 1:30 p.m.

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