GUILTY UT - Loretta Jones, 23, Price, 30 July 1970

[OkieGranny]

http://www.sunad.com/breaking/2016/06/homicide-cold-case-now-ags-office/

A nearly 46-year-old cold case of murder in Price was placed in the hands of the Utah Attorney General’s office on Wednesday, and now that office will take some time to decide if a prosecution should move forward...

The case was turned over to the AG’s office because the Carbon County Attorney’s office sent a letter of declination to the sheriff’s office some time ago...

The case, the murder of Loretta Jones on July 30, 1970, received new notoriety a couple of weeks ago when her body was exhumed to look for traces of DNA of the perpetrator of the crime, a technology that wasn’t available nearly 50 years ago. The results have not come back from the State Crime Lab yet, but Brewer said the media exposure of the case to the public has brought new evidence to light since that time.

http://kutv.com/news/local/mothers-body-exhumed-in-1970-utah-murder-case

Unearthing the body was off limits until recently. Loretta's own mother, who passed away within the last couple of years, was against it. But Heidi said eventually it was "absolutely not" a difficult decision to exhume.

Brewer would not identify the person of interest in the case, but said he is still alive and living out of state.

A man named Tom Egley was arrested soon after the murder, but a judge ruled there was not enough evidence to proceed to trial.

Justice for Loretta: https://www.facebook.com/JusticeForLorettaJones/

 

[Jca2930]

Being new to this site I do not know how to link news posts. Thomas Edward Egley was arrested today for the rape and murder of Loretta Jones. The article is located at gephardtdaily.com. If someone could explain to me how to put a link in the post that would be great!

 

[Jca2930]

https://m.facebook.com/JusticeForLorettaJones/
Hopefully I did that correct. But this is the justice for Loretta Facebook page.

 

[Jca2930]

http://fox13now.com/2016/08/18/arrest-made-46-years-after-rape-murder-of-utah-woman/
This is the story from fox 13. I really hope the family can finally get some closer on this case!

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Being new to this site I do not know how to link news posts. Thomas Edward Egley was arrested today for the rape and murder of Loretta Jones. The article is located at gephardtdaily.com. If someone could explain to me how to put a link in the post that would be great!

Here's the link to the Gephart story jca- glad you updated this thread. I've never heard of this case before so I need to go read up. I did see where loretta's 4-year old daughter was in the home at the time of the murder....glad she wasn't hurt.

http://gephardtdaily.com/local/rapemurdercoldcase/

 

[Jca2930]

Thank you for adding that link Blondie! Here is another with a lot more information.
http://kutv.com/news/local/daughter-of-1970-cold-case-victim-ecstatic-after-suspects-arrest

 

[cocomod]

http://www.sltrib.com/news/4253607-155/colorado-man-arrested-charged-in-1970

That was more than 46 years ago, when police say 23-year-old Loretta Jones was raped and killed inside her Carbon County home. On Thursday, the Colorado man who investigators believe killed Jones was arrested and charged for a second time in connection with the heinous crime.

Thomas Edward Egley, 76, was charged Thursday in 7th District Court with the legal equivalent of first-degree felony murder, as well as rape, a first-degree felony.

Egley's official charge is criminal homicide, murder in the second degree, which was the statutory offense that applied to the killing at the time under Utah law.

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=41121504&ni...ter-in-rape-and-murder-of-carbon-county-woman

Thomas Edward Egley, of Rocky Ford, Colo., was charged in 7th District Court with murder in the second degree and first-degree felony rape for the stabbing death of 23-year-old Loretta Marie Jones at her Price home on July 30, 1970.

Egley, who is being held on a $1 million arrest warrant in Otero County, Colo., is now awaiting extradition to Utah, officials said.

In 2009, Carbon County sheriff's Sgt. David Brewer reopened the cold-case homicide at the request of family members of the victim.

 

[pleasestandby]

Some background to the case from the Salt Lake Tribune August 2, 1970. Egley had been arrested for the murder but was released for lack of evidence back in 1970:


http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm176/pleasestandby2/lorettajones_zpshyehzlwz.jpg

 

[gregjrichards]

"A 76-year-old man has been arrested after admitting to raping and murdering a woman more than 40 years ago because she denied him sex, authorities say.
Loretta Jones, then a 23-year-old mother, died inside her home in Price, Utah, in July 1970.

Authorities found her lying face down between the couch and a coffee table, naked from the waist down, court documents state. She had multiple stab wounds and had been sexually assaulted.

Investigators reopened the case in 2009 to her daughter's request. Thomas Egley, 76, gave a confession on Tuesday, telling authorities he 'slit Loretta's throat' because she refused to have sex with him, making him feel 'like s**t'"

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ened-Thomas-Egley-arrested.html#ixzz4HniVS1i4

I'm glad an arrest has been made it's a great pity this man has been able to live his life for so long before being charged.

 

[Jca2930]

http://etv10news.com/alleged-guilty...appears-in-local-court-for-first-proceedings/

 

[Jca2930]

http://www.sltrib.com/news/4321132-155/even-monsters-get-old-76-year-old-man

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

From your link Jca......photo of the perp.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Thomas Egley is expected to enter a guilty plea.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865663925/1970-Price-murder-and-rape-case-may-be-close-to-resolution.html?pg=all

The case of a rape and killing of a woman in her Price home 46 years ago may be one step closer to being closed.

In court Monday, an attorney for Thomas Edward Egley, 76, said his client would like to see the case resolved soon and is willing to enter a plea deal. He was charged in August with the legal equivalent of first-degree felony murder, as well as rape, a first-degree felony, in the 1970 death of 23-year-old Loretta Jones.

Egley's attorney, David Allred, said that resolution could be presented as early as the next court date on Oct. 17. Allred said his client hasn't discussed the allegations against him in detail, but that "this has been on his mind for a lot of years."

Allred said Egley is willing to waive a preliminary hearing, where prosecutors would have to present evidence to support the charges against him, but the state is pushing to go forward with the hearing in order to preserve testimony in the case.

Updated article says the hearing is on October 11th.

http://kutv.com/news/local/carbon-county-cold-case-suspect-to-plead-guilty-to-murder-prosecutor-says

Now, according to Strate, a deal in principle has been reached in which Egley will plead guilty to the charge of murder at a hearing Oct. 11.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Cold case murder suspect pleads guilty: Thomas Egley admits guilt in the murder of Loretta Jones in 1970

http://www.good4utah.com/news/local-news/cold-case-murder-suspect-pleads-guilty

Judge George Harmond: "Mr. Egley, to the charge of murder in the second degree. What is your plea sir? Guilty or not guilty?"
Egley: "Guilty."

Jones Asay was only four years old when her mother was murdered.
"Finally, justice," she told Good 4 Utah afterwards. "Justice for my mom. It's been a long time. 46-years has been a long time.

Egley will be sentenced Nov. 22nd and faces ten years to life in prison.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Justice At Last: Egley Sentenced to Prison in Cold Case Murder

http://etv10news.com/justice-at-last-egley-sentenced-to-prison-in-cold-case-murder/

Thomas Edward Egley appeared in front of Seventh District Court Judge George Harmond for sentencing on Tuesday afternoon regarding the 1970 murder of Loretta Jones.

Jones’ daughter, Heidi Jones-Asay, stood in front of Judge Harmond, Egley and the court. With tears in her eyes, she recalled the morning that she woke to find her mother’s dead body.

Jones-Asay spoke to Judge Harmond and the court, recounting the horrible morning that she found her mom. Jones-Asay explained that she was terrified, in shock and alone. She expressed the pain of having her mother taken away from her by the selfish act of one man.

Jones-Asay informed the court that her mom was her hero that night. By not crying out, she spared her daughter’s life. In a statement, Egley claimed that he did not know that Jones’ daughter was in the other room.

“I always knew the name and face of the man who killed my mom,” Jones-Asay said.

With the confession, Judge Harmond sentenced Egley to be committed to the Utah State Prison for no less than ten years with a possible life sentence.

 

[Silentium]

10 years to life in prison...wow...harsh punishment

Murder of Loretta Jones by Thomas Edward Egley spotlighted

 

[CastlesBurning]

Woman Wrote Killer's Name In Blood Before Dying In Disturbing Crime Scene Photo, Police Say

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“I believe Loretta stayed quiet to protect her own child because she was afraid her daughter would run out and get hurt as well," Brewer concluded.

A medical examiner confirmed she was murdered with a small, narrow knife and also found semen on her, but DNA testing was still in its infancy in the 1970s. They weren't able to find a match. However, they did have an important lead — the same day Jones was killed, a man tried to abduct a 10-year-old girl who lived nearby.

Lori Kulow Fennel was outside playing when a strange man grabbed her and tried to take her, but she managed to scream loudly enough to scare him off. It seemed too bizarre of a coincidence for there to be two criminals attacking women in the same quiet neighborhood on the same day.

Another essential clue surfaced after Asay Jones started talking more about that night. Her grandmother went to police after Asay Jones told her she heard a man in their house telling Jones he was going to kill her, who she thought was Jones' friend "Tom."
Woman Wrote Killer's Name In Blood Before Dying In Disturbing Crime Scene Photo, Police Say

 

[alexwood]

“I believe Loretta stayed quiet to protect her own child because she was afraid her daughter would run out and get hurt as well," Brewer concluded.

A medical examiner confirmed she was murdered with a small, narrow knife and also found semen on her, but DNA testing was still in its infancy in the 1970s. They weren't able to find a match. However, they did have an important lead — the same day Jones was killed, a man tried to abduct a 10-year-old girl who lived nearby.

Lori Kulow Fennel was outside playing when a strange man grabbed her and tried to take her, but she managed to scream loudly enough to scare him off. It seemed too bizarre of a coincidence for there to be two criminals attacking women in the same quiet neighborhood on the same day.

Another essential clue surfaced after Asay Jones started talking more about that night. Her grandmother went to police after Asay Jones told her she heard a man in their house telling Jones he was going to kill her, who she thought was Jones' friend "Tom."
Woman Wrote Killer's Name In Blood Before Dying In Disturbing Crime Scene Photo, Police Say

This is a very good article. It refers to Loretta's diaries. I did not come across any mention of diaries that Loretta kept in other articles. Here's an excerpt from your article:
"Authorities scoured Jones' diaries and did find mention of a Tom — Tom Egley, a man she dated for just about two months."

I did find another article that provides more details, and answers a few questions that hadn't been answered in reading other articles on her case. (See link below)

Loretta's Justice

 

[MajorHoople]

From the Daily Mail:

"A woman who found her murdered mother's bloody body when she was just four years old has recalled how she enlisted a high school friend to solve the brutal crime more than 40 years later.

Loretta Jones, 23, had been repeatedly stabbed and sexually assaulted in her Price, Utah home but managed to write her killer's name in blood before her daughter Heidi Jones-Asay woke up and discovered her dead on July 30, 1970.

'When I got up, I looked through the keyhole into the front room and when I opened the door, there was blood everywhere. It was my mom's lifeless body,' Jones-Asay recalled on a recent episode of the Oxygen true-crime series Exhumed. "

Woman recalls finding murdered mother's body at age four | Daily Mail Online