Plea bargain possible in slaying of pregnant woman

FARMINGTON — There has been another delay in the case of a man charged with two counts of capital murder for allegedly shooting his ex-wife and the baby she was carrying in 2001, but there are indications that a plea agreement may be in the works.

Roger Martin MacGuire, 50, has been in the Davis County Jail since he told a friend and a police officer on Jan. 15, 2001, that he had just killed his ex-wife, Susan MacGuire, according to testimony given at a preliminary hearing.

Susan MacGuire was carrying her fiance's child when Roger MacGuire allegedly gunned her down in the Layton office where she worked, shooting her in the abdomen, head and left arm.

Second District Judge Michael Allphin on Monday continued a hearing for MacGuire until Aug. 18. A jury trial has been scheduled to begin in September.

Gordon and Doreen Christensen, parents of the deceased woman, later expressed frustration at yet another delay.

"We're getting tired of it," Doreen Christensen said.

Attorneys in the case have confirmed that efforts are under way to work out a plea agreement, but nothing is concrete yet. Doreen Christensen said her reaction to a plea bargain would depend on what it turns out to be.

She remembered her 39-year-old daughter fondly: "She was just a vivacious, energetic ball of fire." Gordon Christensen added, "She was quite a girl."

Attorneys for Roger MacGuire had argued that he should not be charged for the death of the fetus, which was estimated to be between 13-15 weeks old, because state law did not clearly define the term "unborn child."

However, the Utah Supreme Court ruled in January that the state law covers all unborn children at all stages of development, which allowed prosecutors to continue with the two capital murder charges.

Influenced in part by this case, the state Legislature in 2002 changed the law to say it included any unborn child "at any stage of its development."

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