Man gets long prison term for murder, robbery

SALT LAKE CITY — Thomas Soules was only 19 when he stabbed David Farrimond to death two years ago, but it will be a long, long time before Soules is a free man.

Soules, now 21, was sentenced Friday to 16 years to life in prison for murder and six years to life for aggravated robbery, both first-degree felonies.

Third District Judge Vernice Trease ordered the sentences to run consecutively.

She also put Soules behind bars for zero to five years each in connection with three different car thefts. Those prison terms will run consecutively with each other and also with the sentences for the murder and robbery case.

Trease said she imposed such a stiff penalty primarily because Soules tried to tamper with a key witness in the case, stole the cars during a three-week period after killing Farrimond and, most importantly, a human life was lost.

Families of both the guilty man and the victim wept on separate sides of the courtroom as the case came to an end.

Farrimond, 40, was found dead from a stab wound to the heart in the parking lot of a Kearns church on Sept. 9, 2007.

The prosecutor at Soules' November trial said Soules had gone to a movie with friends two nights earlier, someone else paid for Soules' ticket and demanded repayment, and Soules announced he would get the cash. Prosecutors believe Soules tried to rob Farrimond and ended up killing him.

The jury returned guilty verdicts on both the murder and robbery charges.

Shauna Corless, Farrimond's sister, wept as she told the judge that her brother's life had value and that he would never have done anything to provoke an attack.

Corless said her entire family and particularly her mother, Arlene Farrimond, have suffered greatly because of this senseless killing, and it "drove the nails in the coffin" of her father, John Farrimond, who died in November 2009.

Corless said Soules must not get parole, to protect other families from the same pain her family has endured. At the same time, she said, her family appreciates the sorrow the Soules family has experienced: "Mr. and Mrs. Soules, we are truly, truly sorry for your loss."

Wayne Soules, the father of the convicted man, was equally gracious in his remarks, telling the Farrimond clan that he and his relatives extend their condolences regarding David Farrimond's murder.

Soules also broke down as he described his son as a troubled youngster who had many problems but who was never prone to violence. Instead, Soules suggested his son was probably trying to fit in with an odd set of friends that night and got into a situation he could not fully understand.

"I hate him for what he did, for his choices," Wayne Soules said in an emotion-choked voice, "but I love him."

Thomas Soules also apologized to the Farrimonds.

"This was a mistake I committed. I had no intention of harming him," Soules said. "I'm not a violent person, that's not who I am."

e-mail: lindat@desnews.com