Man bound over for trial in case of body desecration

WEST JORDAN — After a preliminary hearing in which even the defendant's own mother testified for the state, a judge has bound Jasen Andrew Calacino over for trial in the case of a young woman who overdosed on drugs and whose body was discarded in the foothills near Bountiful.

Calacino, 20, faces charges of desecration of a dead human body and obstruction of justice, both third-degree felonies.

However, 3rd District Judge Royal Hansen and prosecutor Sean Torriente agreed Wednesday that a class A misdemeanor charge of negligent homicide should be dropped.

The six witnesses who testified at the preliminary hearing said essentially the same thing — Calacino gave the same account of what occurred to each one, everything he said turned out to be true, he was very upset and he wanted to turn himself in.

In a nutshell, Calacino was with his now ex-girlfriend, Macall Aubrey Petersen, and Amelia Sorich the weekend beginning June 25, 2005. Sorich somehow got drugs in her body — Petersen recently admitted injecting Sorich with a combination of heroin and cocaine — and Sorich complained of feeling ill.

Calacino later found Sorich on the floor having trouble breathing. Witnesses said he told them he had wanted to call 911, but Petersen was afraid she'd get into trouble. The couple put Sorich on a couch, stayed with her and fell asleep.

When Calacino awoke, it was clear there was a problem — Calacino tried CPR on Sorich but could not revive her. He again wanted to call 911, but Petersen said no and persuaded him to help take the body to Bountiful, with Calacino removing it from the vehicle and hiding it in the foothills. In Salt Lake City, Calacino wiped fingerprints from Sorich's car and threw items from it into a Dumpster near where the pair abandoned it.

Calacino's mother, Jodi, and other witnesses said he confessed the following Monday and said he was going to turn himself in. Jodi Calacino tearfully said her son phoned and said, "I can't live with this, I can't live with this."

After the hearing, defense attorney Greg Skordas said it was helpful for all the families involved to hear the details of what occurred. "It's important for people to hear that Jasen has been honest and up-front from the beginning."

Skordas was pleased the negligent homicide charge was gone and said the other charges now will be addressed.

"There has to be some punishment here, but you have to take into account this young man went in on his own and helped the police," Skordas said. "It took two people to do this — we're not going to sit here and blame someone else. But we think his culpability is less — he wanted to call the police, he wanted to call the paramedics."

Calacino will be arraigned May 11.

Petersen, meanwhile, has pleaded guilty to desecration of a dead human body, a third-degree felony, and class A misdemeanor negligent homicide. As part of the plea, two drug possession charges were dropped. She will be sentenced May 30.

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E-mail: lindat@desnews.com