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SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake man was sentenced to prison Monday after admitting to stabbing his stepfather to death in 2018, believing God had instructed him to carry out the killing.
Charles Anthony Petrie, 34, pleaded guilty in February to a reduced charge of manslaughter, a second-degree felony, and possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a third-degree felony. On Monday, Petrie was sentenced to consecutive terms of one to 15 years in prison and zero to five years in prison on the respective charges.
Petrie was initially charged with murder, a first-degree felony.
Petrie was charged days after Jan. 27, 2018, when police were called to a home at 756 E. 1700 South in Salt Lake City and found two men standing over Petrie on the ground, while 54-year-old Johnny Postlethwait was lying on the bed. Postlethwait was stabbed multiple times and was surrounded by a large amount of blood, according to charging documents. Postlethwait died at the scene.
A family member told police that Petrie and Postlethwait got into an argument the night before, where Petrie made a comment about "shanking" or "sticking" Postlethwait, charging documents say.
Petrie's plea agreement says that he killed Postlethwait due to "a delusion that was attributable to a mental illness."
"Mr. Petrie's mental illness caused a delusion in which he believed Mr. Postlewait was Satan and that God had instructed Mr. Petrie to 'get rid of Satan,'" the plea agreement says. "Mr. Petrie believed the voice of God told him that his life was in danger and that Satan would kill him if he did not immediately kill Satan."
Petrie had been released from jail the day prior to the stabbing. Online court records indicate a warrant was issued for Petrie's arrest on Jan. 12, 2018, for failing to appear in court in connection with an aggravated assault case, and he was booked into jail on Jan. 16, 2018. Petrie had been given a plea in abeyance in the assault case prior to the killing, meaning if he had complied with all terms of the agreement for two years, the charge would be dropped. He was ordered to be released on Jan. 26, 2018, just a day before the fatal stabbing.
In addition to the manslaughter case, a judge ordered Monday that Petrie would be sentenced to a concurrent prison term in the aggravated assault case, meaning he will serve that prison term at the same time as the manslaughter case.
