Orem man shot, killed; brother-in-law is arrested

OREM — An Orem man was shot and killed in the basement of his home Sunday, and police have arrested his brother-in-law for investigation of murder.

Details are sketchy, but detectives obtained a warrant to search the home, 433 S. 360 West, in order to gather additional evidence from inside.

Orem police received a phone call from the house about 12:30 p.m. Officers found Marvin Sidwell, 51, dead inside the home where he lived with his mother, said Orem Police Sgt. Craig Martinez.

Sidwell's brother-in-law, Stephen Strate, 54, who called 911 to report the shooting, was booked into Utah County Jail on suspicion of murder. He voluntarily surrendered to police, Martinez said.

"It appears to be basically a situation involving family members," he told the Deseret News.

Detectives have located the handgun believed to have been used in the shooting. Martinez said it appears the victim's mother was the only other person in the house at the time.

Police are waiting for autopsy results from the medical examiner's office.

"We're still sorting through all the details," Martinez said.

Neighbors say they are stunned by the incident that occurred in the house at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac.

"It's kind of shocking to hear that this kind of stuff happened," said Harold Frost, who lives a few doors down and said he occasionally has cleared snow from the elderly woman's driveway.

Ron Bybee, who also lives down the street, said he and his wife had no inkling that trouble was brewing in the Sidwell home.

He said the brother-in-law would come to the house with his wife "almost every day" to take the elderly woman to the Orem Recreation Center and other places.

Bybee said Sidwell and his mother were "warm and friendly" people who would frequently stop by to chat.

"We weren't aware of anything at all," he said.

e-mail: pkoepp@desnews.com Lana Groves contributed to this article