Man convicted in 2007 murder of St. George teen killed in prison


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GUNNISON — A man who was just 14 when he raped and killed a 15-year-old St. George girl has died after allegedly being assaulted inside his cell at the Central Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison.

Carlos-Adrian Javier Hernandez, 24, — convicted of killing Keely Amber Hall in 2007 — was found unconscious on the floor of his cell in the Hickory Facility about 8 p.m. Thursday after corrections officers heard "suspicious noises," according to a prepared statement from the Utah Department of Corrections. The department on Friday said the death was being treated as a homicide, and the victim's cellmate, Julio Cesar Garza, 25, was a suspect.

Hernandez was taken to Gunnison Valley Hospital and then by medical helicopter to Utah Valley Hospital in Provo where he was pronounced dead at 12:41 a.m. Friday, the department stated. A cause of death was not released Friday.

Garza is serving time for convictions of aggravated robbery, possession of a prohibited item in a correctional facility and assault by a prisoner.

Garza has a history of violent crimes, according to court records. Most recently, he was convicted in 2012 of punching another inmate in the head multiple times while the two were in a holding cell at 3rd District Court, according to court records. Before that, he was convicted in a separate case in 2012 of punching a Department of Corrections officer in the eye and mouth after the officer found a razor knife hidden in his cell, court records state.

Fifteen-year-old Keely Amber Hall was found dead at a St. George park in January 2007. Photo: KSL TV, file
Fifteen-year-old Keely Amber Hall was found dead at a St. George park in January 2007. Photo: KSL TV, file

Hernandez was convicted of strangling Keely Amber Hall to death in 2007 and dumping her body in a neighborhood park. He was charged with first-degree murder, rape and aggravated sexual assault and ordered to stand trial as an adult. When he was 15, he pleaded guilty to rape and murder in exchange for a charge of aggravated sexual assault being dropped. He was sentenced to serve 15 years to life in prison for the murder and five years to life for the rape. His first parole hearing was scheduled for 2027.

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Pat Reavy

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