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RICHFIELD — The husband of a woman missing since September whose remains were believed to have been found last week has now been charged with murder.
Edward Donald Callison, 59, was charged Tuesday in 6th District Court with murder, a first-degree felony; obstructing justice, a second-degree felony; and abuse of desecration of a dead body, a third-degree felony.
But in an unusual step, the Sevier County Attorney's Office filed a motion to have the probable cause statement — the document that outlines the allegations against the defendant that justify the criminal charges — sealed.
"The investigation is still ongoing," prosecutor Casey Jewkes wrote in his motion. "Releasing sensitive facts of this case to the public could impede the investigation and jeopardize tainting the potential jury pool of Sevier County."
While there have been many high-profile cases in Utah, media attorneys have successfully argued that there has never been a case in which there was a reversal of a defendant's conviction because of any pretrial publicity.
Callison was scheduled to have an initial appearance in court Tuesday.
The investigation is still ongoing. Releasing sensitive facts of this case to the public could impede the investigation and jeopardize tainting the potential jury pool of Sevier County.
–Casey Jewkes, prosecutor
He is accused of killing Melanie Callison, 46, who was last seen in September. Edward Callison told her family that his wife had left for California, even though she did not say goodbye to anyone.
But Callison's story about where Melanie went and why kept changing, according to family members and police.
The couple married on April 25. She went missing in September. Edward Callison filed for divorce, according to court records, on Nov. 10. On Nov. 13, he was taken in for questioning by the Sevier County Sheriff's Office, which later announced that human remains believed to be those of Melanie Callison were discovered in a campground less than a mile off state Route 24 in Sevier County. Edward Callison was arrested that night.
Utah state court records show Callison pleaded guilty in 2013 to unlawful possession of a financial card and identity fraud and theft in 2007. He was divorced from a previous wife in 2006.
Melanie Callison's family members say he also has a criminal history in California.
