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TOOELE — Three men were charged Wednesday with conspiring to kill a man, luring him to a remote area of Tooele County and shooting him to death.
Wyatt William Smelser, 20, of Cottonwood Heights; Hakop Jack Keshishain, 20, of Sandy; and Izaiah Kirkpatrick, 20, of Draper, are each charged with murder, a first-degree felony, in 3rd District Court.
All three initially met at Keshishain’s apartment, according to police.
Keshishain said he wanted to kill the victim “because he was running his mouth about Keshishain and Keshishain planned the murder with Kirkpatrick and Smelser,” charging documents state.
The victim’s name has not yet been released.
A police affidavit lists the crime as happening on May 21. The investigation began as a missing persons report in Sandy.
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Body recovered in Tooele, 3 arrested for suspicion of murder
A body believed to be a missing person from Sandy was recovered in Tooele County on Monday and three people have been arrested for investigation of murder. (Photo: KSL TV)Sandy police eventually interviewed Smelser, who took detectives to an area on Faust Road where the victim was shot and killed and his body left behind, the charges state.
Smelser claimed “Kirkpatrick said he wanted to be the shooter” while Smelser suggested the area near Faust Road “as a good location to kill the victim,” according to the charges.
“Smelser said the plan was to lure the victim to go shooting and shoot the victim. Smelser said he drove to the location, and Kirkpatrick shot the victim with a .45,” the charges say. “Smelser said Kirkpatrick then drug the victim into some bushes.”
After the body was found, a search warrant was served on Keshishain’s apartment where “several weapons that (police) believe may have been used in the homicide” were recovered, the charges states.
