Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PROVO — Hunter Lamoreaux asked his neighbor for a glass of water before firing multiple shots at him at the victim's front door in Springville, according to a police interview played in court on Thursday.
In the recording, Lamoreaux, 27, told police he heard from relatives that Greg Shaffer, a former neighbor of his who was in the middle of a divorce, may have been emotionally abusive to his children. He said at that point it wasn't "set in stone" but in the next few months, Lamoreaux decided Shaffer "needed to die" to protect his kids.
"He got custody of the kids, which he shouldn't have because he was abusing them," Lamoreaux told officers when he was asked what made him so mad.
He admitted during the interview, however, that he didn't know there was abuse; he had just heard about it indirectly.
Fourth District Judge Robert Lund ordered Lamoreaux to stand trial for murder, a first-degree felony. Lund said evidence presented at the hearing showed Lamoreaux had a premeditated intention to kill Shaffer and fired multiple shorts at Shaffer at his home on May 21, 2022.
Springville police Sgt. Jason McCoy testified about the crime scene and the description of the suspect that later led officers to suspect Lamoreaux when he came to the police station following the shooting.
In the recorded interview, Lamoreaux told officers he went to Shaffer's home following a basketball game and could tell someone was inside because the TV was on, so he continued knocking. He said Shaffer brought him a glass of water, and then seemed jittery.
He said the first shot didn't work properly, but he shot again and "lost count" of how many times he fired the gun.
Springville police detective Kim Story said Lamoreaux told police he aimed at Shaffer's heart and head to ensure he could not be revived when paramedics got to the scene.
Court records show Shaffer had filed for divorce in 2021 but the divorce was not yet finalized. On April 11, Judge Sean Petersen issued temporary orders that gave primary custody of the children to Shaffer. To support the temporary custody decision, Petersen cited the wife delaying mental health services for the children and not showing the willingness to co-parent that Shaffer had shown by taking a co-parenting class and getting treatment for "alleged issues."
Lamoreaux will be back in court for an arraignment on Feb. 16.
