Family remembers slain Utahn as quiet, easy going


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SALT LAKE CITY — Ricky Wymer said his cousin was the type of person who never picked a fight.

"Tony was a very easygoing-type person. Quiet. He was a veteran of Desert Storm. He worked on a Navy aircraft carrier," he said. "He was a very good guy. I find it hard to believe that there was anything to justify someone being gunned down in the street, basically."

About 6 p.m. Saturday, Tony Wymer, 55, of Vernal, was shot and killed on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in Fort Duchesne, Uintah County.

The incident is being investigated by the FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs. The FBI, as of Monday, had not released the names of either the person shot or the person arrested. FBI spokeswoman Sandra Barker said a 36-year old man, a member of the Ute Indian Tribe, was in custody.

Ricky Wymer said his cousin was driving home from work Saturday when another vehicle came up behind him and got really close.

"My cousin put his brakes on to get him to back off, then the guy backed off. But then he sped up and hit him from behind really hard," he said.

Initially, both men pulled into the parking lot of the police station in Fort Duchesne, he said, adding that the gunman then started his car and took off again.

Wymer said his cousin followed the vehicle to a second location, where both men got out of their vehicles.


He was a very good guy. I find it hard to believe that there was anything to justify someone being gunned down in the street, basically.

–Ricky Wymer


"I don't know if there was words exchanged or what happened from there, other than he pulled out a handgun and shot him twice in the chest, instantly killing him," Ricky Wymer said.

Tony Wymer is survived by his wife, whom his cousin said is "devastated."

Contributing: Caitlin Burchill

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Pat Reavy interned with KSL NewsRadio in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL NewsRadio, Deseret News or KSL.com since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops and courts beat.
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