Mt. Olympus woman sentenced in attempt to kill parents

SALT LAKE CITY — Attorneys for a woman accused of trying to kill her elderly parents told the judge who sentenced the woman Tuesday that the incident was the result of a "perfect storm" of her frustration combined with depression and anxiety.

Gretchen Bloyer, 54, was sentenced by 3rd District Judge Michele Christiansen to two consecutive terms of one to 15 years in prison, but the prison time was suspended and Bloyer was ordered to serve 365 days in jail — with credit for 335 days served. She was also sentenced to five years of probation, 200 hours of community service and given a strict order to take all prescribed medications and participate in relevant treatment courses.

Bloyer pleaded guilty in March to two amended counts of attempted aggravated abuse of a disabled/elderly adult, a second-degree felony. She had originally been charged with two counts of attempted murder, a first-degree felony.

Prosecutors said Bloyer, a registered nurse who lived in the basement of her parents' Mt. Olympus home and took care of them for more than four years, had started a car in the garage on Dec. 4, 2008, and then left the house for six hours with the car still running inside.

She later called a sister and asked if their parents were dead, according to prosecutors. When other siblings arrived to check on the parents they found that they were fine.

"The bottom line in this case is that Ms. Bloyer … fell into a bit of a perfect storm," defense attorney Michael Peterson said. "She was trying to take care of her elderly, basically disabled parents and struggling with her own depression and anxiety. As the issues with her parents started to deteriorate it became more difficult to deal with."

He told the judge that Bloyer needs treatment and medication, but did not have the means to pay for them, as she has since lost her nursing license.

Christiansen said the case put her in a "situation I hate" because it reinforced her belief that our current society is not prepared to deal with the mentally ill.

"We as a society and a community should be better prepared to take care of everyone in our society," she said. "People who don't fit in or who have mental illnesses are hard in my position because you have to protect the community and the individual, but not punish people for how their brains work."

Bloyer said she remembers little of that day, except for a period where she thought she might be "dreaming."