Man charged with double murder in southern Utah

Iron County prosecutors have filed murder and theft charges against a man in connection with the deaths of two men whose bodies were found buried underneath a shed.

Martin Chris Nelson, 43, was charged Friday in Cedar City's 5th District Court with two counts of aggravated murder, a capital offense, and two counts of second-degree felony theft by receiving stolen property. Court records show Iron County prosecutors also filed notice of intent to seek the death penalty.

According to a probable cause statement filed with the charges, authorities were investigating the disappearance of Chad Grijalva and Derek Davis. The two Washington County men vanished on Oct. 24, 2007 after telling family members they were headed to the Cedar City area to run an errand.

"Grijalva's family members reported that Grijalva was going to meet with (Nelson) to collect some money owed to Grijalva by the defendant for slate tile that Grijalva installed," Iron County Sheriff's detective Jody Edwards wrote.

Edwards said in his affidavit that Nelson's cell phone was the last call made by Grijalva before he disappeared. Based on that, both Washington and Iron County sheriff's deputies began focusing on Nelson.

Nelson is a convicted sex offender who was arrested in November at a Beryl property he lived on for failure to register as a sex offender, drug possession and possession of a dangerous weapon. During a search of Nelson's place, Iron County Sheriff's deputies spotted Davis' pick-up. It had been partially dismantled, Edwards wrote, stripped down to the frame.

"The defendant's property was searched and the bodies of Davis and Grijalva were found on Nov. 17, 2007, buried, in a shallow grave, under a shed on the defendant's property," he wrote. "A .22-caliber rifle was also located in the defendant's bedroom."

Grijalva and Davis died of multiple gunshot wounds, authorities said. The rifle was stolen, and deputies allege it was sold to Nelson for $10 by a friend who knew it was stolen.

Prosecutors issued a warrant for Nelson, who remains in the Iron County Jail facing trial on the unrelated charges. Edwards said in his affidavit that there is a concern that Nelson would be a flight risk if he were granted bail.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com