Provo man is charged with murder in aunt's death

PROVO — A Provo man has been charged in the brutal slaying of his aunt.

Damien Candland, 22, was charged Monday in 4th District Court with murder, a first-degree felony, and obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony.

A hiker found the body of Amy Candland, 41, in Hobble Creek Canyon, east of Springville, on Feb. 21. Police said she had been beaten, raped and strangled to death.

Her nephew was arrested the next day after police matched duct tape on the body and footprints at the scene with a roll of tape and shoes found at the house where he had lived with his aunt.

Prosecutors may file additional charges after forensic testing is completed. They have said Damien Candland may have killed his aunt to prevent her testimony in a pending assault case.

He is being held in the Utah County Jail on $1 million cash bail. He was scheduled to have a preliminary hearing Monday along with his father on assault charges related to a fight over a drug debt. That hearing was postponed.

His father told police his son had a "violent relationship" with Amy Candland and that he believed his son was responsible for her death, according to a police affidavit.

She had told a friend she was "terrified" of her nephew and she wanted him out of the house they shared, the affidavit states. The friend said she had previously taken Amy Candland to the hospital for injuries he had inflicted.

Damien Candland pleaded guilty last year to charges of theft and drug possession after his aunt told police he had stolen two checks and taken her truck without permission.

He is also charged with misdemeanor assault against an ex-girlfriend. According to a police report, he kicked the woman's dog, grabbed her by the jacket and broke a window at her Provo home on Jan. 18.

e-mail: pkoepp@desnews.com