Clash over house may have sparked slaying

OREM — The dispute that left Marvin Sidwell dead in the basement of the Orem home he shared with his mother may have been sparked by his fear that the house would be sold.

According to a search warrant affidavit filed in 4th District Court, a neighbor approached Sidwell's sister Linda Strate on Oct. 25, 2009, about possibly buying the house. Sidwell's mother, Lavern Sidwell, signed over ownership of the house to Strate in 2002.

When he overheard the conversation, Sidwell threatened the neighbor's life, the affidavit states. Strate left and related the threat to her husband, Steve Strate, who then came to the house at 433 S. 360 West.

Steve Strate, 54, is charged with murder, a first-degree felony, in connection with the shooting that occurred shortly afterward. He called police and told them he had shot his brother-in-law several times after Marvin Sidwell, 51, 2009 attacked him with a chair.

The warrant, signed Oct. 26, gave police permission to re-examine the scene in search of a bullet they could not account for. Police recovered seven empty shell casings from a .380-caliber handgun, according to the affidavit.

They found one bullet lodged in the wall, another next to the body on the ground and a third in a window well. The other four were thought to be in Sidwell's body, but X-ray images from the autopsy only showed three.

"The autopsy revealed that two fired projectiles had passed through the body, one more than originally surmised," the affidavit states.

Strate's attorney, Ronald Yengich, has said his client acted in self-defense. In a motion to have his $1 million bail reduced, Yengich said Strate had tried to help Sidwell, who had several drug convictions, with his personal problems.

Dozens of relatives and associates wrote letters praising Strate in support of the motion, which Judge James Taylor granted last month when he cut the bail in half.

A preliminary hearing in the case is set for Jan. 27 in Spanish Fork.

e-mail: pkoepp@desnews.com