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SALT LAKE CITY — A man already accused of brutally murdering a woman in one park has now been ordered to stand trial for a vicious rape against a separate victim.
Paul David Vara, 31, was ordered to stand trial by 3rd District Judge Terry Christiansen on two counts of object rape, a first-degree felony, in connection with the Dec. 14, 2010, attack at Pioneer Park.
The alleged 40-year-old victim took the stand Wednesday and said she remembered drinking with some friends at a shelter near the park at 350 W. 400 South and then waking up in the hospital with extensive injuries.
She identified a number of photographs of her bloody clothing and was adamant that she not only didn't recognize Vara, but she also never consented to the contact she had with the man. The injuries sustained required surgery and still cause her physical pain, but she said that's not what still impacts her the most.
[Vara] was like a mad dog. I've never seen nothing like that in my whole life.
–Witness Anthony Lowe
"It's my mental state, my emotional state," she said. "I'll never be the same again ... It's hard for me to eat and sleep."
Anthony Lowe testified as to his experience that day in Pioneer Park with Vara and the woman. He said the trio was sitting on a pair of blankets he had laid out in the park when Vara almost immediately became physical with the woman, touching her below the waist.
"She didn't say nothing," Lowe recounted. "She wasn't making no moves, she wasn't talking, it was like she was paralyzed or something."
He said he left to go the bathroom, but kept an "eye out." He said when he returned, Vara was grabbing the woman repeatedly.
"He was like a mad dog," Lowe said. "I've never seen nothing like that in my whole life."
Lowe said he ran to get some other men, and when they headed in Vara's direction, the man ran away. Police responded almost immediately. One police officer who testified said Lowe told him the suspect was an African-American man, while another officer said it was a Hispanic adult male.
Salt Lake City police detective Michael Hardin testified as to a video clip that showed Vara saying he was responsible for the woman's injuries. He said the man made the statement after being made aware of his Miranda rights.
Vara is also facing charges of aggravated murder and object rape, both first-degree felonies, and forcible sex abuse, a second-degree felony in connection with the slaying of of Kristine Marie Gabel, 45. Gabel's body was found on Dec. 18 in a Fairmont Park bathroom.
Police say Vara strangled Gabel with a string, mutilated her and disemboweled her during that attack.
Vara will have an arraignment on the object rape charges stemming from the Pioneer Park incident June 7. A scheduling conference on the aggravated murder charge is scheduled for the same day.
Email:emorgan@ksl.com
