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SALT LAKE CITY — Ken Sharp's memories of the house he grew up in are tainted.
The home in Murray is no longer the place where he spent happy years with his family; it is the place his mother died.
"It was deliberate and planned," Sharp said, recalling the blood smeared all throughout the house. "A whole sequence of events that kept getting worse and worse could have been abated at any time if he had chosen to stop."
Ken Sharp and almost a dozen other family members spoke of grief and pain as the man who murdered Shirley Sharp, "the trunk of our family tree," was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without a chance of parole.
Christen James Spencer, 50, pleaded guilty in November to aggravated murder, admitting to brutally beating 85-year-old Shirley Sharp, robbing her and setting her house on fire. He showed no emotion as the sentence was read.
Meanwhile, a portrait of Shirley Sharp, serene and smiling in a white blazer and pearls, sat on display in the courtroom.
Ken Sharp described his mother as thoughtful, kind and gentle, known for her handmade ceramics. His wife, Betty Sharp, recalled her faith in Jesus Christ and her dedication to caring for those she loved.
"The Christlike love that she shared was something (Spencer) had never experienced. If he had, he wouldn't have been able to do this," she said.
On the day Shirley Sharp was killed, Spencer was pulled over driving her car in a bus-only lane near 75 West and 5300 South. He sped off while he was being questioned and before police could identify him, but the car's license plate led investigators to Shirley Sharp's home, where they put out the flames and discovered her body.
Spencer, whose address is listed in court documents as the homeless shelter, boasted a bushy beard in the boisterous photos sent out by police at the time. He was known for panhandling with signs like "Too stoopid to steal" and "Too ugly for prostitution."
As he stood before 3rd District Judge Randall Skanchy, Spencer was clean-shaven and quiet.
Spencer did not address the judge, asking instead that his attorney read a small statement.
"I feel terrible, very sad, deeply sorry for what I did. What I did was awful and unforgivable," defense attorney Michael Peterson read as Spencer stood silent at his side. "Shirley was a very good person who deserved only good things in her life. I'm deeply sorry for what I did, and I realize saying sorry could never be enough."
The judge, in turn, did not speak to Spencer, turning instead to the Sharp family as he handed down the sentence.
"I hope legacy of Ms. Sharp will be the legacy of this family, a legacy of strength, a legacy of peacefulness," Skanchy said.
In exchange for his plea, charges of aggravated burglary, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, aggravated arson and failing to obey the commands of a police officer were dismissed.
Since his arrest in February, Spencer has been regularly taking medication that "helps him to function," offering some relief from depression, anxiety and other conditions, his attorneys said in November.
He crushed my family. Christen Spencer destroyed a very loving, balanced family.
–Steven Sharp, grandson of Shirley Sharp
The details of the murder are devastating and disturbing, recounted as Shirley Sharp's family addressed the judge. Investigators say that when Spencer broke into Sharp's home almost one year ago, he struck her 17 times in the head with a tire iron, bound her hands behind her back, tied her to a bed post and strangled her with nylons. Once she was dead, he robbed her and set a fire in her closet.
"He crushed my family," said grandson Steven Sharp, as he described the brutal killing. "Christen Spencer destroyed a very loving, balanced family."
In 2002, Spencer was indicted in federal court for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He was convicted and sentenced in 2005 to 27 months in federal prison. In 2004, he was indicted federally for possessing stolen mail and identification fraud, according to court records. He was sentenced to eight months in prison to run concurrent with his other federal sentence.
Spencer was also convicted in 2012 of attempting to use or possess someone else's bank card, according to court records. In 2001, he was convicted of felony drug possession and sentenced to a year in jail. In 1997, Spencer was convicted of felony forgery and felony theft in another case.
