Teen charged with killing 15-year-old girl makes 1st court appearance

Teen charged with killing 15-year-old girl makes 1st court appearance


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SALT LAKE CITY — A 17-year-old boy accused of killing his 15-year-old girlfriend in 2012 made his first appearance in juvenile court Wednesday.

The defendant, who still has a young boyish face, was just 14 when he allegedly beat Anne Kasprzak to death and dumped her body in the Jordan River. He is charged in 3rd District Juvenile Court with murder, a first-degree felony, and obstructing justice, a second-degree felony. KSL has chosen not to name the boy at this time.

During his initial court appearance Wednesday, prosecutors began the process of attempting to have him certified to stand trial as an adult.

The boy, wearing a long-sleeve gray sweatshirt with his hands shackled in front of him, was calm and polite when answering Judge Dane Nolan's questions about whether he understood what was happening.

"Yes I do, your honor," he replied.

Nolan also explained to the teen his rights, including the right not to speak about the case to anyone.

"My suggestion to you is you speak to your attorneys only about the case," the judge said.

The 17-year-old, who had been attending Grand Junction High School in Colorado until his recent arrest, is currently being held in a juvenile detention facility in South Salt Lake.


My suggestion to you is you speak to your attorneys only about the case.

–Judge Dane Nolan to 17-year-old defendant


Four members of the boy's family, including his father and mother, sat in the front row of the courtroom. He told them "love you" as he was led in and out of the courtroom. At one point, the boy turned to his family and mouthed something to them.

After the hearing, the teen's parents left the Matheson Courthouse without comment.

During the brief hearing, the boy waived his right to have a preliminary hearing within 30 days. The judge ordered him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation in conjunction with the paperwork that goes along with the adult certification process.

The next hearing was set for Nov. 20. At that point, attorneys will decide if they are ready to proceed to a preliminary hearing. The preliminary hearing and adult certification hearing will be held at the same time. For now, both the prosecutors and defense attorneys said they were just starting the process of sharing information about the case and analyzing it.

No one from the Kasprzak family attended the hearing. Nolan told prosecutors that the family should be reminded they are allowed to have someone present to represent them, even if they can't make it.

Tuesday, Dennis Kasprzak, the girl's father who now lives in Colorado, said he believes the boy should be certified to stand trial as an adult.

"This was an adult crime and he needs to take responsibility for that as an adult. He didn't admit this crime. He's lived with this crime for as long as we have. He's had time to come forward. He's had time to take responsibility for it, and he has not. And so it is time for him to take responsibility for it now," he said. "Because he is an adult for all intents and purposes now."

A motive for the crime has not yet been revealed. A search warrant obtained by KSL Tuesday, however, showed that police collected evidence that Anne Kasprzak had told the boy she was pregnant with his child nine days before her body was found in the river. Her parents, however, say she was not pregnant.

Court documents refer to him as Kasprzak's boyfriend, although her father said the two really didn't date, but knew each other from school.

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Pat Reavy

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