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ST. GEORGE — The last defendant involved in the kidnapping and murder of David Heisler pleaded guilty Monday in federal court.
Kelley Marie Perry, 34, of Santa Clara, pleaded guilty to a federal felony count of a kidnapping resulting in death as a part of a plea deal. She is facing up to 35 years in federal prison and will have associated cases in Washington County and Arizona dismissed.
Perry, along with co-defendants Tammy Freeman and Francis McCard, kidnapped Heisler from his Santa Clara home in June 2016 and left him in the Arizona desert near Mount Trumble where his remains were found nearly two months later.
According to court records, Perry was Heisler’s former girlfriend and the mother of Heisler’s daughter who was 6 years old at the time of the kidnapping. Heisler had been awarded full custody of his daughter two weeks prior to the incident.
Perry, along with McCard and Freeman, went to Heisler’s home with an intent to “scare” him after he received sole custody of his daughter.
Police investigators testified that McCard and Perry both admitted to tying up Heisler, assaulting him in his home, placing a pillowcase over his head and forcing him into the backseat of his car.
