Father's Provo trial ends with hung jury

PROVO — Jurors deciding the fate of a man charged with trying to kill his children announced they cannot agree on a verdict.

The jury listened for two days to witnesses in 4th District Court who testified about Christopher Young, 36, and his drive on April 18 that ended on a small cliff in Lehi.

Testimony focused on whether Young really intended to kill the youngsters or if, in a distraught state, he just "made mistakes."

It was noted during the trial that while driving, Young told his three young children, ages 6, 4 and 2, that they were all going "to see Jesus" and wouldn't see their mother, with whom he had been fighting, again.

The jury began deliberating just after 8 p.m. Thursday night but came back around 3 a.m. Friday to tell Judge Steven Hansen they couldn't reach a verdict.

The trial can be rescheduled, but no date has yet been set, said Paul Vance, trial court executive for 4th District Court.

As with any criminal case, the jury had to agree unanimously to find Young guilty or innocent of three counts of attempted aggravated mur- der and three counts of child abuse.

They could also have come to a verdict on just some of the charges.

During the trial, Young testified that he dropped his cell phone and accidentally drove off the freeway when he tried to get it. He said he hadn't been paying much attention to driving because he was so emotionally distraught. His wife had told him earlier that day that she didn't love him anymore and wanted a divorce.

Young then drove to the top of a small cliff. Police later found him through GPS tracking on his cell phone as Young talked with police officers and his wife.

"You thought if you went off that (cliff's) incline ... that you would die at the bottom with your children?" Deputy Utah County Attorney Donna Kelly asked Young on the stand.

"Yes," Young said. He later said, "Maybe we'd get hurt, probably die, who knows what. I can't give you an exact thing."

During closing arguments, Kelly asked the jury to consider Young's actions as a whole.

"There is nothing worse you could do to children than tell them you're going to kill them, while you're taking steps to do it," Kelly said. "Just because he didn't take the final step doesn't mean this is not a crime."

However, defense attorney Richard Gale told the jury to look at Young's actions as bad decisions, not murderous intentions.

"If he had intended to kill anybody, he would have done it the first time he went off the freeway," Gale said "Sometimes we go through things that make us say and do things (we don't mean.) Chris did some things he wishes he hadn't done. He regrets it. But he's not a murderer. He abused his children and it was wrong, but he's not a murderer."

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