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UTAH STATE PRISON — A man who was seeking parole after serving 25 years in prison for killing his wife will have to wait another five years for his next chance at freedom.
John Emery Blanchard, of Park City, 76, was charged with capital murder in the brutal death of his ex-wife, Patricia Ann Coon Blanchard, 45, on Sept. 9, 1995. He was convicted, but the jury could not come to a unanimous decision on a sentence and Blanchard was subsequently sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
On Nov. 3, Blanchard went before the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole for the first time. Both his son and daughter, who were in the residence the night their mother was killed, spoke at the hearing. But while the daughter believed it was time for her father to be released, Blanchard's son told the board he wanted his father to stay in prison until he dies.
The arguments were taken under consideration and the full five-member board recently voted to give Blanchard a rehearing in September of 2025. He will be 81 at that time.
