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SALT LAKE CITY — The wife of a man who shot and killed a University of Utah student in 2017 was ordered Friday to spend a year in jail for her role in the killing.
Before reading the sentence for Kathleen Elizabeth Rose Boutain, 3rd District Judge Vernice Trease told her the case is much more serious than the pair of theft convictions now on her criminal record.
"It's a theft case, but it's not your run-of-the-mill theft case," Trease said, because Boutain's conduct "ultimately resulted in the death of somebody."
ChenWei Guo, 23, was shot and killed by Austin "AJ" Boutain near the foothills bordering the U. campus in Salt Lake City nearly two years ago. Guo, originally from Beijing, was known on campus as an outgoing computer science major who helped other international students find their place.
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Man who killed U. student says 'I know sorry doesn't mean much, but I'm truly sorry'
Nearly 11 months after shooting and killing a University of Utah student near Red Butte Garden, a man accused in a violent two-state crime spree admitted what he'd done and asked for forgiveness.Austin Boutain began serving a life sentence in the Utah State Prison after admitting to aggravated murder in September, but he has been extradited to Colorado. He and his wife both are charged there with murdering a 63-year-old man three days before the University of Utah murder.
The violent series of events for the couple began after a night of partying with Mitchell Bradford Ingle. Prosecutors say Austin Boutain became enraged that the man was flirting with his wife, then killed Ingle by slitting his throat. The pair then stole his truck and drove to Utah, charges say.
Police say the couple drove to the foothills above the U. to hide out. On Oct. 30, they hatched a plan to either carjack someone in Red Butte Canyon and drive to Tennessee, or kill someone and take their car.
But the Boutains got into a fight over picking the right person to attack, charges say. Kathleen Boutain later told investigators her husband struck her in the face with the gun, so she ran away and had someone help her reach police.
Austin Boutain ultimately approached Guo, 23, in his car and became enraged when Guo refused to roll down his window and tried to drive away. Boutain shot five times, killing Guo. A woman who was with Guo managed to run away as Boutain fired at her.
Guo was an only child. His family members and the woman who survived the attack declined to attend the hearing because they are trying to move forward, said assistant Salt Lake County district attorney Chou Chou Collins.
Collins originally sought prison time for Kathleen Boutain, but ultimately recommended a year in jail with no credit for nearly two years she has served. Under the jail term, she is less likely to be released early and before authorities in Colorado secure permission to transport her there, Collins said.
The judge granted the request for jail time but said prison would have been fitting.
"Until I sat in this chair today, prison was on my mind," she said.
A shackled Kathleen Boutain apologized and said the gravity of the case isn't lost on her.
"I understand that the charges that were dropped were very serious and the charges that I pled to are serious also," she said. "I wish I would have chosen a different route in the beginning."
Her attorney, Ed Brass, said outside the courtroom that his client has not had an easy life. She suffers from mental illness and previously had three children taken from her in Alabama because she could not care for them, Brass said. She also has a juvenile record in that state, but authorities there have not disclosed the details to attorneys in Utah.
Kathleen Boutain was originally charged with three counts of criminal solicitation and an additional count of theft by receiving stolen property.
She pleaded guilty in May to two counts of theft by receiving stolen property, a second-degree felony, based on her role in stealing a gun and truck from Ingle's home in Golden, Colorado.
