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WEST JORDAN — The son of Maurine Hunsaker spoke up during a hearing on Friday, urging the judge to not delay the investigation into whether the man guilty of murdering his mom is competent enough to be put to death.
"Every day matters to me. My grandmother fought the fight as long as she could. I promised her I would fight to my last breath," Matt Hunsaker said.
Menzies, 65, was convicted of aggravated murder, a capital offense, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery, both second-degree felonies; and robbery, a second-degree felony, on March 9, 1988, and is on death row awaiting execution.
Prosecutors filed a motion to start the execution process in January, but Menzies' attorneys asked for the process to be put on hold for an evaluation into whether he is still competent to be executed. His attorneys claim Menzies has dementia and no longer understands why the state wants to execute him.
Matt Hunsaker said when Ralph Menzies murdered his mother 38 years ago, he was competent. He said he doesn't know how many times he's addressed the court in that time, asking for the case to move forward, each time.
"I encourage the court to diligently push this along and let's move this forward and get this done as soon as possible," he said.
When Matt Hunsaker began his comments Friday, after hearing from attorneys on both sides, he noted his mother's name had not been mentioned. He said the case is about her — Maurine Hunsaker, a mother of three who was killed at age 26.
Matt Hunsaker said he was 10 years old when his mom went to work at a gas station in Kearns and was kidnapped, taken to the mountains and killed by Menzies. He said this case is dear to him and his family, and also noted time spent on the case is using taxpayer money.
Friday's hearing was on motions for the discovery process and deadlines for the process of determining if Menzies is competent enough to be executed.
Third District Court Judge Matthew Bates took about an hour to make his rulings after attorneys had finished presenting arguments. He set deadlines for discovery at the end of April for Menzies' attorneys and the end of May for prosecutors, and June 15 for any additions by Menzies' attorneys. He also set a hearing to evaluate the status on June 26, and scheduled a tentative, six-day hearing to determine competency beginning Sept. 23.
Only a few things were debated at the hearing — primarily whether notes from evaluators should be provided to the other attorneys in the case. Thomas Brunker, special assistant solicitor general, said they are only asking for notes experts used to form opinions and if there is anything specific that could be prejudicial, a specific motion could address that.
Menzies' attorney, Eric Zuckerman, said the request is broad, and carries the risk of disclosing documents that could be used unfairly.
Bates ruled the notes are not privileged, and said it is important to show everything experts relied on in making the decision. He said because the trial will be a bench trial, as the judge, he would be able to determine what notes are errors and which are simply incomplete thoughts.
Zuckerman expressed concern about the schedule suggested by prosecutors, saying "the situation has been changing faster than we anticipated."
Reports will need to be submitted 15 days after Friday's hearing and Zuckerman mentioned they have an evaluator set to visit Menzies a second time. A third evaluator should see him in early May, as a second visit, he said, which will help reflect Menzies' current condition.
Brunker said Menzies is currently presumed to be competent and his attorneys have the burden of proof, adding the MRI that led to this investigation happened over nine months ago, and Menzies' attorneys should have been able to get the evidence they need at this point.
Menzies was not in the courtroom Friday.
