- Christopher Hewitt, convicted of murder and assault 18 years ago, goes before parole board.
- Victim's father and survivor Seth Coleman shared emotional testimonies about the 2007 attack.
- Hewitt expressed remorse, highlighting anger management and drug abuse classes during incarceration.
SALT LAKE CITY — A man convicted of killing his friend and injuring another man 18 years ago in an unprovoked attack had his first parole hearing on Tuesday.
Christopher Allen Hewitt drove Benjamin Perkins-Link and his friend, Seth Coleman, who were both 19, to Neffs Canyon in August 2007, allegedly to hang out. But while Perkins-Link and Coleman were talking, Hewitt came up from behind and attacked them both with a 5-foot metal pole.
Coleman was able to get away. But Hewitt repeatedly hit Perkins-Link with the pole, killing him.
Hewitt pleaded guilty to murder and aggravated assault, was found to be mentally ill, and was sentenced to a term of 15 years to life in the Utah State Prison. Hewitt was transferred to the Utah State Hospital for treatment before being taken to prison, according to court records.
Hewitt, now 36, went before the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole for the first time on Tuesday.
Hewitt spoke slowly when asked by board member Greg Johnson to recount what happened on the night of Aug. 31, 2007, and at times seemed to have trouble staying focused on answering questions.
He said he and Perkins-Link would do drugs together and he recalled one time when he and Perkins-Link drove around after Perkins-Link had allegedly been kicked out of his house.
"We drove around for a long time, and we tried to find a place to start smoking. He asked to borrow my phone. So he walked off with my phone and made a phone call and it kind of made me mad a little bit," Hewitt said in a recording of the hearing. "And I thought about hurting Ben because I was mad at him taking the phone."
Hewitt said he then thought about what someone had told him when he was a child, that "crack kills."
"Then I thought, 'Maybe crack does kill.' And then I had the idea, 'What if I killed someone?'"
Hewitt says that's when he got the idea of taking Perkins-Link to Neffs Canyon and killing him.
Coleman, the other man attacked that night who survived, also addressed the board on Tuesday. He said he and Perkins-Link were best friends during their childhood. In 2005, however, Perkins-Link nearly died in a car crash and faced many obstacles in his recovery.
Coleman told the board what he remembered from the night his friend was killed. He said after he had moved away for a while and returned to Utah, he was finally able to spend time with Perkins-Link. He said Hewitt suggested the three of them go to Neffs Canyon. When they arrived, Hewitt was carrying a metal pole which he claimed was in the event they came across a bear, Coleman recalled.
As Coleman and Perkins-Link sat on a rock talking, Coleman says his friend was starting to show signs of his old self.
"I was so happy, like I couldn't believe Ben was lighting up in this way," Coleman recalled. "I was feeling emotional, I was so happy. ... (I was thinking) we're going to turn this thing around and Ben is going to be OK.
"I remember feeling, like, 'This is an amazing moment.' And then, with nothing to provoke it, suddenly I just hear the words 'bears, bears,' at the same time as I'm flying forward," he said. "One of the most special moments I ever had with Ben was the moment before he was killed."
Hewitt had yelled "bears" before attacking both Coleman and Perkins-Link with the metal pole.
After running for safety, Coleman says he went back to the rock where he was sitting with Perkins-Link where he saw the silhouette of a body and blood reflecting off the moonlight.
"And I can't tell you how ... hundreds of times each day I replay that," he said.
Coleman told the board that his entire life changed after that, and he moved to Fiji to pray, fast and find solitude.
"I stopped being angry about it. It's been 18 years, but it feels like yesterday. I finally started having days I didn't think about it," he said.
Coleman also addressed Hewitt directly.
"I didn't hate you, Chris," he said. "Chris, I'm not beating you up anymore in my mind. I release you, man. You gotta live with your consequences, your decisions. But I release you, man. There is light that can't be overcome by the darkness."
Donald Link, Perkins-Link's father, recalled to the board the night two police officers showed up at his door to inform him that his son had been killed.
"I felt shocked, scared, confused and helpless," he said.
Link says to this day, he can no longer do the things that he enjoyed doing with his son such as golfing or going to a concert. And over the years, he says others have tried to help by saying things such as, "Everything happens for a reason."
"That one I hate because I don't believe it. I don't believe there's a reason Ben was killed. He certainly didn't deserve it and it didn't make any sense to me. His death was violent and unnecessary," Link said.
"My message today is not to be a reckoning, it's not meant to be vengeance. It's also not meant to be forgiveness. I'm not even sure I understand what forgiveness means. It's supposed to be releasing feelings of resentment and anger toward someone. But even though many years have passed, I can't seem to bring myself to do that," he continued.
The father said he has gone through the stages of grief many times since 2007, but he keeps cycling back to anger and can't reach acceptance.
"I don't hate Christopher Hewitt. I hate what he did to Ben and Seth. And I hate we have to live with the consequences of his actions for the rest of our lives."
When asked if he wanted to respond to Coleman and Link's comments, Hewitt said, "I have thought about everything that has happened every day since I've been in prison. I've thought about my life, my childhood. I've thought a lot about who Ben was.
"I know that what I did was uncalled for. I knew that nobody did anything to have this happen. It was my problem that I got from being really, uh, negative," Hewitt said.
Hewitt says anger management, victim impact and drug abuse classes have been most beneficial to him while he's been incarcerated. He told the board he is done using illegal drugs and vowed to take his prescribed meds for the rest of his life.
"I'm sorry, Seth, for taking your friend away from you. And I'm sorry, Ben's mom and dad, for taking away your only son. I'm sorry, Ben, and I hope I can make it up to you because I know that you're with me always," Hewitt said. "I just want (the board) to know that I've been carrying this information for a very long time. I've cried knowing what I've done. And that part of what I've done is not my fault. But what I've done that I know is my fault is I intentionally knew what I was doing and I did it anyway."
The full five-member board will now vote on whether to grant parole or schedule another hearing.
