Olsen vows he's innocent

Facing federal perjury charges and now a state charge of murder in connection with the disappearance of Kiplyn Davis, Timmy Brent Olsen maintained his innocence Friday through his defense attorney.

The day after prosecutors with the Utah County Attorney's Office filed a first-degree murder charge against Olsen, federal defense attorney Stephen McCaughey said Olsen still says he is innocent in Kiplyn's death and that his client took the news of the murder charge very hard Thursday evening.

"He's doing all right. He was upset last night because of the charge," McCaughey said after a status hearing Friday in U.S. District Court on Olsen's indictment on several counts of lying to an FBI agent and perjury before a grand jury. The charges stem from Olsen's repeated denial that he confessed to others that he killed 15-year-old Davis.

But federal prosecutors stressed they have some 70 witnesses who can counter Olsen's denials, and recently two of his former friends struck plea deals in their perjury cases and agreed to testify against Olsen.

Garry Blackmore pleaded guilty earlier this week to one count of lying to an FBI agent and one count to perjury before a grand jury. According to indictment information, Blackmore now admits that he overheard a confession by Olsen during a road trip to Wendover that he killed Davis.

Davis disappeared from Spanish Fork High School during lunch break on May 2, 1995. For 10 years, federal officials say there has been a conspiracy of silence surrounding her disappearance.

Significant cracks began to show in the wall of conspiracy after U.S. District Attorney Paul Warner sought a series of five indictments for five men associated with Davis.

Scott Brunson has also pleaded guilty to perjury and now claims he was asked by Olsen to offer a false alibi to police shortly after Davis' disappearance.

"We have scores and scores of witnesses," said assistant U.S. District Attorney Richard Lambert. Olsen is just one of possibly two men investigators believe are directly connected to the murder. Prosecutors have not said who is the second man.

Two other men, Neal Jeppson and David Rucker Leifson, still face federal trial on perjury charges.

Friday, Lambert stressed that the investigation is far from over, indicating that yet more indictments are possible. "The grand jury is still meeting," Lambert said. "The investigation is still continuing."

Before Olsen faces a murder trial, federal officials will pursue the perjury case.