Rape testimony can't come into Kiplyn trial

PROVO — Allegations of a violent rape cannot be used in the murder trial of a man charged with killing Kiplyn Davis, a judge has ruled.

Timmy Brent Olsen faces a first-degree felony murder charge for allegedly killing 15-year-old Kiplyn, who disappeared May 2, 1995, in Spanish Fork.

Prosecutors wanted to introduce testimony from Olsen's former girlfriend, who alleges she was assaulted, forced into Olsen's truck and raped in Spanish Fork Canyon in 1996 — all because she asked about his involvement in Kiplyn's death.

Olsen's defense attorney, Jeremy Delicino, who had argued such testimony was irrelevant and unsupported by any criminal charges, called the recent ruling a "significant victory."

The ex-girlfriend, known only as AGP because she was a minor at the time, said she reported this incident to the police but nothing ever came of it.

"Had there been a significant amount of evidence, I don't think this is the type of crime that most county attorney's offices shy away from," Delicino argued in April before 4th District Judge Lynn Davis. "They would prosecute. I do know it was reported, yet there's no criminal prosecution."

However, prosecutor Richard Lambert argued at the recent hearing that the similarities show a consciousness of guilt and a pattern of behavior.

Prosecutors argue that Olsen is charged under the murder statute which implies that certain crimes were committed immediately before the murder, such as rape or sexual assault. Thus, the state contends that Olsen's actions against AGP are a reflection of what happened with Kiplyn.

"AGP is saying her location is the same location where Kiplyn Davis allegedly died," Lambert said in April. "To me, that's an unusual kind of similarity. Most rapes don't have that kind of connection. Again, the key connection is that it is AGP even talking about Kiplyn Davis that triggers the incident against her."

But Davis was quick to refute that argument, calling such connections just "best guesses."

"It is difficult for the court to recognize or analyze the similarities between the crimes when there is so little evidence of either crime, and when there is no physical evidence to establish the commonalities," Davis wrote.

He pointed out that prosecutors only recently informed the court that Olsen's predicate offense to murder was rape, but noted there can't be a strong comparison drawn because Olsen was never charged or convicted of rape.

"Offering evidence of an alleged rape that was never charged would considerably delay the trial and distract the jury from the primary issue," Davis wrote in his ruling.

Olsen's case is on hold while the parties wait for the Utah Supreme Court to decide on a change of venue motion.

Davis ruled that the trial could be held fairly in Provo, but Delicino argued that to avoid prejudice, the trial should be moved, and filed an appeal.

Olsen's co-defendant, Christopher Jeppson, recently took a plea deal and pleaded no contest to obstruction of justice with the murder charge dropped.

E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com