From Deseret News archives:

18 died at the hands of 'the one they loved' last year

Published: Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008 9:38 a.m. MST
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Some of the deaths are out of the blue.

• Dustin Keith Riley, 26, and Andrea Riley, 27, died in what the council calls a "domestic violence related suicide." The two died in what police said may have been a suicide pact. At a convenience store parking lot on Jan. 6, 2007, Dustin Riley sprayed gasoline on the interior of their SUV. The couple then got inside and set it on fire.

"The person who touched off the explosion committed a cohabitant homicide and the other was a victim, albeit perhaps willingly, of that violent act," the council wrote in its decision to include the deaths on the list.

• On March 25, a 47-year-old woman died after a fire she set at her Salt Lake City apartment after a fight with her husband. It was classified by the council as a "domestic violence related death."

• Kara Hopkins, 15, was shot in the head at an April party in West Jordan. Police arrested her boyfriend, Parley Jeffs Dutson, 18, accusing him of killing her because she refused to have sex with him in front of others at the party. Dutson is facing murder charges; the council calls the death a "dating relationship homicide."

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"It's about control," said Lou Mueller, who serves on the committee that drafted the report.

Those seeking help from a domestic violence situation are urged to call 1-800-897-LINK (5465).


E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com

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