Woman sentenced to prison in Ogden double murder case

OGDEN — Constrained by her shackles, Miranda Statler nevertheless tried to wipe away her tears and control her sobs as she asked a judge for leniency Monday.

In an emotional sentencing hearing before 2nd District Judge Mark DeCaria, Statler confronted the relatives of the mother and son whose bodies she was accused of hiding.

Statler, 27, was sentenced from 1 to 15 years in the Utah State Prison for obstruction of justice. She was originally charged with five felonies, but she was granted immunity through a plea agreement reached after she agreed to testify against her boyfriend, Jeremy Lee Valdes.

Last week, prosecutors said they intended to seek the death penalty for Valdes if he is convicted of killing Pamela Jeffries, 56, and her son, Matthew Roddy, 31, in the Roy home they shared.

Statler has testified that she saw Valdes kick Jeffries, who died of head wounds, in the face, then wrap her head in a plastic bag and duct tape. Statler said Valdes emerged from Roddy's bedroom with a knife in his hand and his pants covered in blood.

At Monday's hearing, Jeffries' sister, Debra Owen, said she is haunted every day by the thought of her sister's head wrapped in a plastic garbage bag.

"I am overwhelmed by the evil of it," she said. "I don't know how you could have looked at Pam and Matt … " She trailed off into sobs.

Despite her tears, Owen looked Statler in the eyes and said Jeffries would have wanted her to forgive Statler.

"As Pam's sister, I forgive you," Owen said. "My sister would have wanted me to forgive you."

Roddy's father and Jeffries' ex-husband, Chris Roddy, also read a statement to the court.

Looking at Statler, he asked her if it was worth it. He said while Statler would get to "start over," his son's death would have an impact on him forever.

Statler then told Chris Roddy, through tears, that she "would give anything" to change what happened.

After the hearing, Owen said the family appreciated Statler's efforts to cooperate with prosecutors.

Not everyone at the hearing was pleased with the outcome, however.

Jeremy Valdes' mother, Marlee Valdes, shed tears of her own as she watched the hearing.

"They have it backwards," she told the Deseret News after the hearing. "(Statler) played a larger role than she admits. My heart is breaking right now."

Statler, who said she and Valdes were heroin addicts, has testified that Valdes and Roddy got into a fight Nov. 25, 2009, over claims about stolen medication.

Statler was also sentenced for forging drug prescriptions.

e-mail: jsmith@desnews.com