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VERNAL — A Guatemalan national who was in the United States illegally for the second time when he beat his cousin to death in Uintah County has been ordered to serve at least 15 years in prison.
Jose Leiva-Perez was sentenced Wednesday to a term of 15 years to life in prison for the January 2013 murder of his cousin, David Urrutia.
An autopsy showed that Urrutia, 38, died from multiple blows to the head that fractured his skull more than once and drove fragments of bone into his brain.
Leiva-Perez, 35, was arrested in California 10 days after his cousin's body was found inside the camp trailer the men had shared. He first told investigators in Uintah County that three men beat his cousin inside the trailer.
Leiva-Perez claimed he talked with Urrutia right after the men attacked and said that his cousin told him not to seek medical help for him because Leiva-Perez was in the country illegally. Based on that conversation, Leiva-Perez said he left Urrutia on the floor, locked the trailer door and drove Urrutia's pickup truck to California.
When investigators confronted Leiva-Perez about the differences between what he told Urrutia's sister about the attack and what he initially told them, he allegedly confessed to killing Urrutia but said he acted in self-defense.
Greg Johnson, administrative coordinator for the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole, said the board will review Leiva-Perez's case within 45 days of his arrival at the prison and set a future date for his first parole hearing.
"That hearing could take place before 15 years," Johnson said.
The board will also have to decide how best to address Leiva-Perez's immigration status as it relates to parole. Court records show Leiva-Perez has been deported from the United States at least once before, and was in the country illegally when he killed Urrutia.
"There may be an (federal immigration) detainer, but there's always a risk it may not work out that he's deported," Johnson said.
"The board has to consider: Should we keep (a person) in a Utah prison, where we know the community is safe and they are receiving treatment?" Johnson said. "Or take the chance that the other country won't do anything and the person may return to Utah?"
