Police briefs

Burned body found in car near Saltair

Investigators from the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office said Saturday that they were close to identifying a badly burned body found in a scorched vehicle.

The car was discovered Friday about 11:30 p.m., about two miles east of Saltair near the Great Salt Lake. Detectives on Saturday confirmed that the victim was a male. Positive identification will not be made until dental records are examined, said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson. But detectives believe they have a good idea of who the man was, he said.

Propane tanks with open valves were found inside the burned-out vehicle. Investigators were leaning toward declaring the death a suicide, Hutson said Saturday, but were waiting first for final autopsy-test results.

A similar incident happened March 9, when a badly burned car and body were found in Big Cottonwood Canyon. The cause of death in that incident was also ruled a suicide.

— Pat Reavy

Man sentenced for battle-ax attack

Scott Tyler Stapley, 22, was sentenced to three years to life in prison for slashing a 17-year-old male with a medieval-style battle ax in a dispute involving a buddy's girlfriend.

A jury found Stapley guilty of attempted murder, a first-degree felony, in January, after deliberating for almost four hours.

Third District Judge Judith Atherton on Friday also ordered that Stapley repay $2,848 to the state's Crime Victim Reparation Fund.

The case of Cody Jesse Augustine, 21, Stapley's co-defendant in the case, is ongoing. Augustine is charged with attempted murder with injury, a first-degree felony.

Police said Stapley whacked the Kearns teenager with the four-bladed ax while Augustine stabbed the teen repeatedly on July 29 outside the teen's home. The teen suffered injuries that were life-threatening, including a deep gash on his neck that required 300 stitches to repair, but he recovered.

Court documents state that Augustine was jealous of the teenager because of some text messages involving a girl from whom Augustine was under the impression that he had contracted a sexually transmitted disease, which she had gotten from the teenage male.